


Forbidden Fairytale

by BubblyShip



Category: Ever After High, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphdyne - Freeform, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Cat Sans, Crossover, Destinies, Evil W. D. Gaster, F/F, F/M, Father/Son Incest, Fluff and Angst, Forced Kissing, Forced Relationship, Happy Ending, Horror, Incest, Kidnapping, M/M, Neko Sans, One-Sided Attraction, Parent/Child Incest, Snow White - Freeform, Stalking, cheshire sans, creepy gaster, ever after high x undertale, evil king gaster, insane gaster - Freeform, kitty and sans are siblings, noncon, papyton, pedophile gaster, sansby - Freeform, saved lives, snow white alphys, the evil king, unwanted incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 30
Words: 72,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26916124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyShip/pseuds/BubblyShip
Summary: Fairytales aren't just fiction. They walk and talk, and they pass on destinies through the Storybook of Legends. If you sign your destiny, your bound to that exact story. Everyone wants to be Snow White, and who wouldn't? Good destinies are something to be praised!Except... Sans didn't get a good destiny.He's the son of the Evil King, and he has a terrible destiny in his future.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Grillby/Sans (Undertale), Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale), W. D. Gaster/Sans
Comments: 139
Kudos: 208





	1. Chapter 1

_"Welcome to Ever After High, where all fairytale legends are told through destiny! This year of school is going to be so exciting, I sure am excited! Plenty of fairytale children are going to sign their destinies, to seal their happily ever afters..."_

The power button was pressed as Sans rolled over to his other side on the couch, tossing the remote to his bare feet and pulling over his blue hoodie, with white fluff, over his face. His blue furred tail flicked in the air before settling down on the couch with him, the cat ears poking out of his hood touching the edge of the cushions.

"Hey, I was watching that Sans!" Kitty, his older sister, objected, grabbing the remote from by his feet.

She clicked it back on, showing on the large mirror on the wall an image of a women talking about the famous high school known as Ever After High. It was the school Snow White went to, and privately funded, so naturally everyone wanted to attend.

Kitty's hair was lavender, with large curls and it pulled into pigtails, her blue slit eyes staring at the screen, enthralled in the school, just as others watching were. Her skin was a pale purple, ever so pale, with dull colors on her dress. A large grin was spread across her face as if the mirror gave ripples of effect to the room, allowing for the two siblings to draw smiles as it continued in the background.

"I remember when I pushed the three little pigs into that lake." Kitty giggled when a lake flashed across the mirror.

"I remember you coming home, soaking wet from them getting revenge with the wolf," Sans said into the pillow.

"I didn't know his breath was that strong," She objected.

"It's literally in his destiny," Sans said.

Destiny. The fate that binds every person in this universe together in their stories. No matter who or what a story was about, destiny was involved. Sometimes, though, people wished desperately for destiny to change, it didn't.

"But the sad, old wolf couldn't blow down the house with his huff and puff." Kitty giggled at the irony. "So sad. But it was funny, so worth it."

"Could've just gotten a bulldozer," Sans said.

Other than the giggle that escaped from Kitty, no other words were spoken between the two.

Sans sat up on his elbows and stared at the mirror, knowing his sister wouldn't allow him to turn it off again. And so, he was stuck with her hand on the remote, watching the show of which he didn't want to watch.

"So," Kitty said, twisting her body to Sans.

"So?" Sans asked.

"I was thinking we should go and get some stuff, if you'll be living in the dorm room," Kitty said, "Like, I saw this cool shop earlier today that has some cool decorations."

"I think I'll just sleep here," Sans said, "Having a roommate sounds terrible."

"You already have one, though!" Kitty said, pointing at her own wide smile.

"Having a new roommate," Sans said.

She perked up at this, jumping down from the couch and landing on her heels before she turned to Sans. The tail swished gently behind her.

"I knew I was your favorite."

"Not much competition to choose from."

"Well, it's not like you're trying to find some competition for me."

Sans sat up fully now, trying to ignore the school on the mirror on the wall by focusing on his sister, who was pulling out some tickets from her back pocket and holding them out for Sans to see.

"This is what friends get you, tickets to see a rocking concert by the Pied Piper himself," She said, "And it's at the actual school, so you can see some of the students that will be there next week with you. Make some friends ahead of time."

"And everyone will be distracted by the concert, so exploring about the building won't be too difficult." Sans took one of the tickets. "You're the best."

"I get it from Mom," Kitty said, giggling.

"Don't we all?"

~~~~~~

Large crowds plagued the school as moths did a bright flame, the large castle covered in decorations on the top of the small hill, towering above the town below. The school was large, no doubt, the front decorated with a welcoming banner. This party was to celebrate a new school yeah, being held in the main hall for previous graduates and new students. That was how Kitty gained two tickets, she knew her way around and knew how to get things.

"Wow, they went all out." Kitty stepped out of the driver's seat, closing the door.

"I don't know, I've never went here before so I have nothing else to compare it to." Sans pulled the hood closer over his skull.

"I can't wait to see my friends again! You okay being on your own?" Kitty asked, "They'd love to see this mysterious sibling of mine."

"It's dark, that's good." Sans looked in through the large doors. "But still, I'd rather just look."

"Suit yourself," Kitty said, "Oh, but you aren't in a suit."

"It would suit me though." Sans cracked out the pun, Kitty giggling.

The two walked up to the front and they handed in their tickets, the person in the front letting them in. Sans looked uneasily around at the crowds, turning to where his sister was to ask her if it was always this crowded, but she was already rushing towards her group of friends. The poor skeleton stood there alone for a moment before he decided it wasn't worth it to hang around any longer, disappearing in a few sparkles from his feet to his head, his smile remaining where he stood before disappearing as well.

Half son of the Cheshire Cat, he naturally had it in his bones.

The skeleton teleported around a corner he could spot from his position, reforming in the air next to a wall. The hallway was completely dim, the sounds of teenagers partying more distant.

Time to explore now.

Sans took down his hood now, running his fingers over the wall as he walked, the claws lightly brushing against lockers and posters. He could read some of the posters through the darkness, and when he did, he scowled. Destiny this, fairytale that, the school was obsessed with it. Of course, the school was centered around preparing people for their destinies.

The Book of Legends was a book, compacted with so much magic and future possibilities, that it's name could be uttered in a public restroom and everyone in there would perk up, understanding immediately of what he spoke of. It was a part of their life, the final part of which they would go through before becoming full fledged fairytale characters, forever. Once they would look upon their future destiny and sign, they chained themselves to a set future, determined to them by their parents. They were born, they signed the book, they had their destiny, they had children to continue the family tree, then they died.

The endless cycle of life that every person seemed to follow with grace and happiness.

As Sans wandered down the hall, tracing things with his fingers and poking other such things, he wondered how people seemed to follow their destinies so... so _willingly_. So _happy_. The idea of giving pain to others, to becoming a power hungry tyrant, it made his bones shiver and his tail freeze. Why would he want to become the Evil King? Why would he want to poison an apple and hurt someone? His destiny made him avoid apples, never daring to pick one up and taste its flavor. In his fridge he could find many different food options, but apples were not an option he felt was suiting. And so his family, his real family, listened, never purchasing or stealing apples.

The school was nice and large, with fancy decorations, Sans would give them that. Although, it felt a tad bit too large, with the hallways threateningly tall above him. With his short structure, it was sometimes easy to feel intimidated by large rooms and buildings.

However, there was one room he absolutely was delighted to find when he stepped inside and discovered a large library, brimming to the edge with books on every shelf. Books, Sans would admit, were his one weakness. It was just too easy to get lost in a good story, excited to learn more of a new universe and what would come of the characters as they fought against their challenges. Of course, who couldn't get into a good book?

He wouldn't exactly tell anyone, not even his dearest sibling, but he actually dabbled from writing from time to time. The skeleton would wait for moments that the house was bare and empty, and then bring up a private folder of which he would type away at, delving into the depths of his imagination. He created stories of adventure and comfort, characters experiencing freedom. The skeleton would craft characters with strengths and weaknesses, fighting against internal struggles together with friends and families. And, sometimes, he would even dive into his own fantasies of a romance, writing certain ideas that would pop into his head. But he would never show a soul, knowing full well he didn't have the courage to show people his true feelings.

Exposing his stories to others would expose who he was, his true self and soul, his ideas and hopes. He wrote what he wanted to write, and writing, to him, showed who a person was if they wrote for themselves. It could show a person's most inner desires, love, praise, and he could see it in certain authors. Unfortunately, he could also tell when someone wrote with greed on mind, and those stories were never as pure as the others. He could rant for hours on bad books, about how certain characters were dull and plots were bad, but he could also recall excellent stories of which would make his soul race and engage him so thoroughly that he wouldn't be able to put it down until he's read it twice, sometimes thrice. Too many times can he recall Kitty interrupting him reading, making him yell at her to stop.

He just very, very much enjoyed stories.

So, as he eagerly gazed upon the names of the books, he started to grow more excited for this coming year. Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad, with these books to comfort him. He could retreat into this room during lunch, and eat while reading a good book. With this room in the school, with all of these books...

It didn't sound so bad.

Sans did not expect to hear the door opening behind him, a faint female voice speaking.

"H-Hi..."


	2. Chapter 2

Alphys didn't even want to go to the event.

As she stood in the body length mirror, decorated by a red and white dress, she could already tell it was going to be terrible. Daughter of Snow White, the fairest woman in the land, she should feel pretty. And that's what others told her, with smiles too big for her to actually feel as if they were real.

She never liked her looks, hunched over with bright yellow skin and a thick tail sticking out awkwardly from the dress, along with large glasses perched on top of her snout; she didn't feel pretty. She didn't feel like a Princess, like a future Queen. She just felt wrong, in the dress, she felt wrong with her destiny.

Alphys wasn't fit for this.

The idea of being social, out in public, made her frown into the large mirror. She absolutely despised, utterly hated social interactions, she could not make that any more clearer than her image in the mirror. As a future Queen, she was supposed to be a leader, to be good with people, but she just _wasn't_. She got nervous while talking to others, she started stumbling through her words and froze. Sometimes she would lay in bed and cry as she thought about how terribly her day went, knowing full well she would have to repeat the treacherous cycle once more.

It was utter torture.

This was the school she would be attending soon, too soon for her liking, and she would have to set a good example even before classes started. So, she was going to be sent to this party, which would probably be crowded and loud, and have to interact with every person there.

And so, with her Mothers calls outside of her room, Alphys left, feeling no more confident or beautiful than before.

~~~~~~

It was crowded.

And loud. Very, very loud.

The clapping was too loud when she walked in, and the crowd was too big, she felt as if the people were pressing in on her, surrounding her. She could already feel her soul beating away within her chest, unable to push against the anxiety of all the ways this could go wrong. What if she spilled some punch on her dress? What if she fell? What if she broke out crying?

She was forced to introduce people left and right, talk to them about things she didn't want to talk about. There felt like there was a pressure on her chest, and she wasn't liking this in the slightest.

Alphys had to leave, now.

There was one excuse of which she loved so much, and that was the "I have to go to the bathroom" saying. Oh, how many incidents in which she had used that to barely escape with her eyes not in tears, she just convinced people that she had a small bladder, and that she needed to go more than the average monster. And when she muttered that perfect, life saving excuse, she was able to retreat down the hall, the music and sounds of voices retreating.

There were too many large, fake smiles for her liking.

Maybe because of the royal blood that ran through her veins, or perhaps it was from living in royalty for so long, but she was always able to tell a fake, forced smile. She had seen so many, that she knew when people only smiled upon her to only appease her, but it did quite the opposite. She felt uneasy near liars, she hated them and just wished for people to tell the truth. Unfortunately, a good Queen would be forced to lie to appease her subjects, and Alphys didn't want to do that.

When she took a turn into the wrong room, and found herself standing inside of a library, she was surprised to find someone else in there, who also must have retreated from the party. She could not see much of them due to the hood, their back to her. She was about to turn around and whisk herself away before they noticed her, but when they turned to their left to gaze at a book cover, she could see their teeth, and discovered a rare, real smile gently pulling at their face as they glanced.

And so, she stayed instead, opening up her mouth to speak the words of which made the person turn around, their blue tail sticking up from surprise. They also had cat ears, so they most likely were related to a cat. She cursed herself internally for her stutter, but she was nervous, she was actually approaching someone for once on her own.

She just felt more comfortable with a real smile then those fake ones.

He clearly did not expect her to speak, gazing at her with confusion. Alphys could barely make out their face, only their teeth, she couldn't really identify who they were and what fairytale they were from. So she couldn't predict what he would do, who he was.

Sans, on the other hand, was extremely confused on why someone was interrupting him, did they follow him? Why was this random girl just standing in the doorway, standing awkwardly? He could see her clawed hands twisting nervously at her waist, she didn't seem like the confident type.

"Oh, uh..." Sans said, "Heya."

"U-Um..." She said, "W-Why were y-you smiling?"

Sans paused, questioningly glancing at the dressed up female. Why was she so dressed up? This wasn't a formal event, it was just a little meeting for new and old students.

"Why was I smiling?" Sans noticed they were about the same height, muttering to himself with annoyance. Being short sucked.

"U-Um!" She blushed from embarrassment as she realized what a straightforward question she had asked. "Well, I-I just... um... sorry..."

"It's, it's fine!" Sans said, noticing her unease. "'S just a question. Well, I was smiling at the books... I kinda like reading..."

"S-So do I!" Alphys said suddenly, perking up at a shared interest.

Oh, she was really starting to regret this decision. Why did she open her mouth?

The monster in front of her watched her, carefully observing her reaction. She was obviously like him, unable to handle social interactions, so this wasn't going to go well. And, also like him, she wouldn't be able to carry on this conversation from this. One of them would have to step up and actually speak, or else this would only continue to drop further into the awkward pit of which the two of them had already dug into.

"What... kind of books are you into?" He asked slowly, as if testing the waters for their awkward encounter.

"O-Oh!" She said, "Uh, I really enjoyed t-that one book, the Percy Jackson one, h-have you ever read it?"

Sans nodded, grinning again.

"Yeah, actually, I have," He said, "I really enjoyed how the author was able to pull off how the gods were able to survive in a completely human world. The mist idea was brilliant."

"A-And the twist?" Alphys was now slightly smiling. "It was, uh, p-pretty good."

"Yeah, it was surprising, but the signs were there. Um, how about this one book, Glass Castle?"

"M-My Mother made m-me read that. It's r-really good. I enjoyed the r-road trip style."

"I was so mad when he killed those kittens in that bag. Part cat, that kinda stuff ruffles my fur. It gets personal."

"Oh my lord, I-I cried when that happened. But when they found o-out about the land the Mother had? I was shocked."

"It has a good message about wealth isn't everything, but having some support can go a long way."

"And I really liked how the main character was w-with her Father..."

"Me too..."

Sans gestured towards some couches nearby, large red and gold couches that looked too comfy to not even attempt to sit on for that night.

"You wanna sit down and talk some more?" Sans asked.

The unease from the conversation was gone by now, both of the socially awkward people finding comfort in talking about the familiar territory of literature. Alphys agreed, rather wanting to talk to this person than return to the room with the crowd. She had already talked to enough people there, and she was actually starting to enjoy herself a bit here, so why not stay?

And so they talked, and talked, book upon book being brought up into the conversation. No one else intruded into their conversation. Both were book lovers and anxious introverts who hated social interactions, but when they were able to break past their usual walls of strangers and talk about something the two of them actually enjoyed and had a passion about, they actually grew pretty close together. It was easy to be distracted by a good conversation, since the two were finally able to talk about their love for books with someone else, so time had passed so easily.

Until Kitty had stepped in and found the two, still talking excitedly over a different story and delving deep into the characters mental states. Sans was rarely excited over something, but when he was, man did he get worked up.

"I found you!" Kitty sang, appearing next to Sans with a large smile, "And wow, you made friends with the popular Alphys White, daughter of Snow White?"

That's when everything clicked with Sans, and when his face drained of happiness to utter horror. Kitty's smile disappeared as well, when she realized that Sans _didn't know who he was talking to_.

Alphys White. He had heard the name before. It was held by the female of which he was destined to poison with one single apple. Sans avoided the name as much as he could, he didn't want to ever meet the girl who's fate rested in his hands. Knowing he would eventually be forced to hurt her, to hate an innocent soul, Sans never wanted to face her.

There was no way it was the girl he had grown to like as a friend, the quirky girl that he wanted to give his phone number to. The girl who he was hoping to make his first friend in years.

No, no.

This...

This couldn't be happening.

Kitty grabbed Sans' arm, him still frozen as he processed the fact that this girl was Alphys White. Alphys awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, hoping that now he knew who she was, which was surprising since everyone knew her, that he wouldn't try to suck up to her now that he knew who she was.

"I... need to go," Sans whispered, standing up as Kitty let go of his arm.

"W-Wait!" Alphys stood up after him. "C-Can we talk again?"

Alphys desperately wanted to not lose her first ever, real feeling friend. Although they only talked about books, she felt as if she could connect to him, as if she could finally find someone to talk to. She never had that before, and she wanted to have a real, smiling friend.

Sans shook his head violently as he pulled the hood further over his head, disappearing in sparkles with his sister, neither of their mouths remaining since neither of them were smiling. And so, when they vanished, Alphys stood alone, and she could only think of how she had scared off a potential friend.

And how she could only think it was her fault.


	3. Chapter 3

So far, the day wasn't terrible.

Sans had hid under his hood, making sure no one saw his skeleton self. He only kept out his tail, and let people assume who he was related to. But he didn't speak, not once allowing his voice to graze the air. And so, people stopped approaching him, understanding that he did not want to interact. Even the teachers steered clear, which he appreciated greatly. The Headmaster is the only one within the school, other than his sister, that knew of his true identity, and they both agreed that Sans could hide his identity and face as long as he still attended classes for his destiny.

_1 - Spells and Curses, 105_

_2 - Wonderland Class, 743_

_3 - Evil 101, 101_

_4 - Trickery and Illusion, 213_

_5 - Lunch_

_6 - Defense And Attack, 641_

_7 - Freetime_

_8 - Kingdom Management, 801_

The first four periods weren't exactly terrible, Sans just sat there and went through introductions, class rules, the usual. During lunch he sat up in a tree and drank a bottle of ketchup, watching the sun in the sky as he ran a hand over his tail in a reassuring way.

"WOWIE, HELLO UP THERE!"

Sans glanced down to find the loud voice, discovering a human standing below him, looking up at him with large orange eyes and a large, innocent smile.

Oh, he was looking at him.

Sans remained silent, not wanting to engage conversation with anyone. Human, monster, it didn't matter. After what happened before, he didn't want anyone to talk to him.

"I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" The tall human ran a hand through his pure white hair.

Sans observed this persons outfit, trying to figure out if he could pinpoint what destiny this person held. He was tall, with mud covered boots, black pants, a white shirt, and a long red scarf that fell past his knees. On his back hung a bow and arrow container, filled to the brim with different arrows.

Probably son of Robin Hood. He had that happy, helpful attitude. It made sense.

"ARE YOU ALL ALONE DURING LUNCH? NO ONE SHOULD BE ALONE! EVERYONE DESERVES FRIENDS!" This person yelled up at him.

Sans just turned the other way on the branch, figuring that if he ignored him, this scarfed person will get the hint.

Well, it didn't seem so.

Scraping of bark and the rustling of leaves alerted him. Sans looked back down to see that human actually climbing up the tree towards the hooded figure.

Doesn't he get that it's extremely difficult to climb up the tree? The bark is very smooth, and the branches aren't stable near the base for someone like him. Sans took a shortcut up there, and he had magic to support him. This guy was going to fall.

And as Sans assumed, the human did slip, Sans waving his hand to capture him in blue magic before he could fall to the bottom.

"YOU KNOW MAGIC? THAT IS AMAZING!" The human yelled.

"Holy crap, take a hint," Sans yelled down, "I don't want to talk!"

"WHY NOT? YOU JUST DID!"

"Because you won't go away."

"WHY WOULD YOU WANT ME TO GO AWAY? YOU LOOK AWFULLY LONELY UP THERE!"

"I like to be alone."

That seemed to shut up the human, and Sans hoped that he would finally, finally just go away.

"WHY DO YOU LIKE TO BE ALONE? DON'T YOU WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS?"

Sans paused. He wasn't sure how to respond. Sure, he wanted to have friends, everyone did, but he didn't want people to find out he was going to be the next Evil King. The next person who would kill hundreds, thousands. Who would be sealed into an eternal prison... somewhere. Who would leave his child all alone in the harsh world.

Once upon a time, he had a friend. Just one, who he would share candy with in the late hours of the night. It, unfortunately, didn't last long. The persons friends parents decided it wasn't a good idea to be involved with someone of his destiny, since they were destined to be enemies. Friendship was removed, they ended contact, and Sans started wearing more hoods. Even in Wonderland, the place of which was filled with crazy and different people, he didn't feel like he belonged.

"Sometimes," Sans said, mostly to himself, "It's better to be alone."

Finally, with that answer, the person seemed to get the hint and left, Sans returning to his gaze of the bright blue sky. He had around ten minutes left of class.

Ten more minutes of being alone.

But now it didn't feel as nice.

~~~~~~

As Sans soon discovered, the person who tried to climb the tree was named Papyrus, and was a chipper fella who just wanted to make everyone around him happy. No one could judge that, because at least he was trying. Failing in some aspects, but still trying.

He found this out by having Papyrus in his same sixth period class, both of them having to deal with fighting destinies. Of course, Papyrus took this upon himself to introduce himself to the skeleton, and talk about himself and his hopes of helping the poor. Papyrus explained that he understood that Sans didn't like to talk much, so he was willing to talk and keep Sans company, since no one deserved to be lonely.

He had a pure heart, it was clear that he was going to be great at his destiny.

Sans also saw his future rivals, the two sons of the famous Prince Charming himself. Papyrus commented plenty on the two, mostly on Mettaton. But, as Mettaton being the elder, he was destined to be the savior and husband of Alphys, not the human who had a small crush.

Alphys...

Sans felt pity. He hated the look of despair on her face as she reached out to him, thinking of him as a friend. He liked her, he really did, that's why he had to do this. That's why he had to cut their ties. It would get messy in the future.

Admittedly, Papyrus was a pleasant person. He had this excited energy to him, that constant urge to make others happy that could rival anyone else's in the Kingdom.

Sans would have to do the same to him as he did Alphys.

He couldn't let Papyrus grow attached to him, either.

When the period was over, and his free time began, he vanished. Literally. As soon as the bell rang, he disappeared, not wanting to lead anyone on.

And of course, when he came back for his last period, he discovered a certain yellow monster who recognized his hood, sitting in the desk right behind his assigned seat.

~~~~~~

Alphys knew it was foolish to think she received a real friend.

That night, when talking to the boy, she should've left while she still had a friend. She could have shut up that one girl, find a way. But as he walked towards her after he entered the class, and sat down in front of her without a word, she knew it wasn't going to get better.

Somehow, her last name just ruined a possible friendship.

Of course the guy with a real smile was too good to be true.

He was in Kingdom Management, as she was, so it might be that her overwhelming popularity of her Kingdom ran his down somewhat. But he couldn't tell what Kingdom he was specifically from. He was related to the Cheshire cat, she could tell that from his sister and his tail, and they were no royals. Maybe the Queen of Hearts?

It doesn't matter. He won't be her friend.

The class started quickly, the teacher starting off with an introduction and class expectations. This class wouldn't be easy, since managing an entire Kingdom would be extremely difficult. Making sure your subjects followed you, making sure that everything ran smoothly. Of course, some of the people in the room were going to rule over evil Kingdoms. Maybe that's why the hooded figure didn't want to be with her, maybe he was jealous of her destiny?

"And this year, we have the lovely Alphys White, daughter of Snow White, to join our class," The teacher spoke proudly.

Of course the teacher would point her out.

"I-I'm extremely excited to l-learn in your class!" Alphys said, knowing flattery often worked, "I can't w-wait to see what will happen t-this year!"

"Princess Alphys, that is amazing," The teacher said, "Everyone, a round of applause for our future Queen."

Alphys shrunk down in her chair slightly, pasting on a large grin awkwardly as the entire class turned towards her and clapped. She hated being in the spotlight, she couldn't wait until she ate the apple.

Being stuck in her own mind, not having to talk to anyone else for a few days, that sounded like heaven. No one to judge, no one to annoy and put her in the spotlight. Just good old Alphys.

Alphys glanced down in front of her, seeing her one hoped friend wasn't really clapping. She smiled at him and waved, but he just looked away and pulled his hood further.

Oh.

"But let us start our first lesson, since Kingdoms never wait to be saved or overthrown," The teacher said, "Everyone will always have someone to help them rise to the top. Every single one of you are here due to your destinies of being the next King or Queen to help lead a Kingdom. Some for good, some for bad, but either way, your destinies are all linked due to this future. That's why, this first assignment will be in partners, on a simulation I myself created. Then you will record your progress and report back in a week. With Kingdom management, you get no breaks when running a population. And you don't get to choose who you run a Kingdom with, since it's foretold in your destiny and fate. So, we'll go by desk. There's five columns, and four rows, so we'll split up by desk. The first two people in a column partner up, and the last two can do that too. Slide your desks next to each other and then we'll continue."

That means...

The hooded male turned around and they both stared, him being in the first row and her being in the second.

"It... looks like we'll be partners." Alphys smiled awkwardly at him.

He only stood up, and flicked his tail as he moved his desk next to hers. No response, no murmur.

"Due to magic, and a little bit of 0's and 1's, I was able to create a Kingdom simulator that can be played as a 2 player video game, as children often do, to help connect more with my students. And I can see what times you play, what your results are, and choices. This is a simulator which requires two players, and must be played on the same console by both players at the same time or else you will fail."

As she explained, she handed out papers to each person, containing things they needed to fill out about the roles and other information.

"I expect every team to meet up at least two hours everyday, at one of your houses, and to work together to raise the best Kingdom with the most loyal citizens who fully support you." The teacher sat on top of her desk as she crossed her legs. "This can be achieved through both creating fear, or by being a perfect ruler. Maybe even a good cop, bad cop style, since some of your pairs may disagree, but that comes with the struggles of a Kingdom. I'll pass out the discs that contain the game, and the rest of class you can discuss plans, exchange numbers, and so forth."

Chatter filled the room, and the two sat awkwardly for a moment as Alphys pulled out her pencil.

"I'll be the King, you the Queen," Her partner said sharply, getting straight into the project, "Since that would make sense with our genders. Unless you want to switch, I don't mind."

"U-Um, yeah, I'm fine with it," Alphys said, "I, uh, have a large TV that, um, we can use for this."

Mirrors were mostly magic driven, and used to broadcast information live and quickly, while TVs and phones were used for storing information and playing games, they weren't really used for communication. Mirrors were infused with magic, and electronics were technology.

"You want me to come to your... mansion?" Sans asked, "Uh, I don't think I'll be... welcomed..."

"My mom isn't a-always home, but, you know." Alphys wrote down her role, "No one would n-not welcome you."

"Then I guess, I'll go to your place, huh?" Sans asked, "You want to exchange mirror numbers?"

"Y-yes!" Alphys said eagerly.

She had never actually given her number to someone before. She never felt like she made a good enough friendship to actually give her mirror number away. And she was actually excited about this, maybe she could change his mind on whatever made him hate her suddenly. He only started avoiding her when he found out her name, so that meant he liked her personality, just not her family name. That would also explain why he didn't want to come over.

"You can, come home with m-me... if you want... to my house a-after school," Alphys offered.

"I guess," Sans nodded.

"So, uh, what... is your... name?" Alphys whispered.

"..."


	4. Chapter 4

Sans didn't feel comfortable telling her his name. Only a few people at the school knew of his last name and destiny, the Headmaster and Sans' sister. So, knowing his first name wouldn't be bad, unless word got out that the Evil King had a son named Sans. And he didn't want to take any chances. Not to mention, giving her his name could mean they were close, and he didn't want to give her the idea.

He should've never went to that concert that night. Then he wouldn't feel bad about being cold to her, about leading her on to believe that they could ever form a friendship. It sucked even more that she was a pretty cool person, he actually had really enjoyed talking to her in the library. There were few people he even talked to, and he loved books and analyzing them. Kitty didn't read enough, neither did his Mother.

Man he was lonely.

And man, did Alphys have a mansion.

It was as big as the school, looking more like a castle than a mansion. Of course, he expected nothing less from the most popular fairytale of all time. He always tried to avoid news of them as much as he could. He didn't hate her family, lord no, he just felt awkward seeing them on the news. Especially meeting her family. 'Hey, I'm the guy who's going to poison and try to kill your daughter because a magic mirror says she's prettier than me'. Not a great first impression.

"So, uh, w-we can go straight t-to my room," Alphys said when she stepped inside, one of their probably many servants closing the door behind them and taking her shoes.

"Sir, may I take your hoodie?" The servant asked.

"No!" Sans said sternly, pulling his hoodie closer to his body as he scooted away from the servant.

"H-He's a part of the Cheshire cat family, they like s-secrets, remember," Alphys said, "He probably j-just feels better with it. I-I don't mind it."

"Of course, my apologies sir," He said, "May I get anything for your new guest to eat or drink?"

Sans shook his head, the servant nodding and retreating down the hall. He took a breath of relief as Alphys walked down the hall towards where he presumed her room was, glad that situation was over quickly. But he still felt very uncomfortable, being in the house he never wanted to enter, stress quickly building in his soul. Sans felt surrounded, unable to escape if someone found out who he was. Skeletons were rare creatures only found related to the Evil King, if even his arm was revealed he would be in trouble.

His ability to take a shortcut him feel a little better. At least he had that escape.

Some of the servants stared at him as he walked by, which he found odd. They weren't staring at him from disgust, instead from surprise and even happiness. When he entered the room, however, Alphys explained as she set down her school bag onto a beanbag next to the door.

"I-I don't really i-invite people often over, this is a-actually the first time someone has come over with me willingly," Alphys explained.

"You're the most popular girl, ever, really." Sans was surprised. "Anyone would pay like a fortune just to hang out with you for a day."

"That's the problem," Alphys sighed, "T-They like my last name, not m-my personality..."

Sans watched her as she spoke, seeing the true light of Alphys White's personality. Toby Fox, he just wanted to become best friends with her already, he really liked her. Of course, not like romantically, since he was completely gay, but he really liked her personality and probably would become best friends with her. But, he really cared about her, so he had to keep his teeth shut and just push through the day. Maybe he could even set up Papyrus and Alphys for a friend date, who knows.

"Want to start the assignment?" Sans asked, gesturing towards the large TV on her wall.

"O-Oh, right!" Alphys said, "U-uh, make yourself at home, on my couch, I need to go do s-something."

She slammed her room door shut behind her, leaving Sans standing alone in the large room.

~~~~~~

"Please, p-please don't screw this up!"

Alphys was practically begging her servants, clasping her hands together. This was the first time she actually invited someone over, ever, since she often went to other people's houses because she didn't feel close enough with anyone to let them see her house. And she wasn't really proud of this, but she was trying to convince him to be her friend.

Even though they only talked for one night, it was the realest conversation she ever felt like she had. They both were honest and true, no lies, no fronts to hold up. But as soon as he found out her name, he didn't try to suck up to her in hopes of popularity, like she expected, but instead he ignored her. It was the complete opposite of the reaction she expected, that meant there might be some hope to having her first real friendship. He didn't care about her popularity, he was just afraid of her name. But her main goal was to at least find out why. She had panicked enough the night that he ran away from her, even creating a list of possibilities where she went wrong and how she could fix them.

"Of course not, Princess Alphys!" The female clapped her hands together. "Oh, I'm so excited for you having a friend come over! We can bring in food, even convince him to stay for dinner. We can guilt him into it and say it takes hours to make, so he feels bad and stays."

"W-Wait, no, I don't want t-to guilt him to stay!" Alphys said, "I just really want h-him to not be freaked out by my family name."

"Don't fret, Princess Alphys." The male rested a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "I understand that you feel pressured and unable to make real friends with others, but you know we'll both be here for you. We will make sure nothing goes wrong and he enjoys his stay here."

The two servants standing in front of Alphys were her personal ones, a tall and skinny girl and a normal sized man. They both catered to her personal stuff, such as fitting dresses, taking her measurements, drawing baths, and more. She's grown close to them, not enough to call them her close friends, since she could tell they lied to her too, and they were only there for the money, but enough for her to be honest sometimes and to tell them what she wanted in a friend. She just wanted someone to be with her not because of her name or her parents paying them, she just wants them to like who she is and want to spend time with her because they enjoy her personality. Maybe like one or two of the books she did.

"Just, uh, bring in snacks a-and drinks, d-don't be weird," Alphys said, "Also, d-do try the thing for dinner."

"Sweet!" The girl pumped her fist. "Friendship forcing time!"

"Don't be w-weird!" Alphys said, "Just... b-bring in food... he's not big o-on social stuff either..."

"Aw, you two are going to be such great friends!" The girl giggled.

"I mean... w-we did get along i-in the library, but... he f-freaked out when he heard m-my name..." Alphys explained quietly.

"Then, we'll get him to look past the name, Princess Alphys," The man said, "It could just be a family issue, or a personal fear. He did seem afraid when he entered. As a Cheshire, I heard they prefer quiet and reclusive things. Being near a royal may cause him fear of attention. So just help him through it. He may be able to get over it."

"A-Alright then..." Alphys sighed, closing her eyes and pumping herself up. "I-I can do t-this!"

~~~~~~

The first half hour went by not very smoothly.

The guy had filled out his role name as 'Nope', so she wasn't able to figure out his name. Whenever she'd offer something, he'd just nod, and go with whatever she said, not really replying. She tried to make some conversation, but it didn't seem to work. She felt like giving up. He didn't want to be her friend.

It was pointless.

Sans noticed her quietness, looking over at her sad face as she blankly clicked on a few options to help a peasant feed her child.

"Sans."

Toby Fox, he was going to regret that later, wasn't he?

But they were in the same boat. Their destinies have made their lives more difficult. They weren't able to get true, real friends as easily. They constantly doubted themselves because of who they were meant to become, when they didn't feel like they wanted to even be that.

Alphys was nice. He had spent his last half an hour thinking, and decided he wasn't going to do this. She never needed to find out his last name, or his Father. Kitty would help him, she supported him.

Maybe this would be worth the risk.

"What?" Alphys asked, perking up at his voice.

"My name." He was louder. "It's Sans."

"O-Oh," She said, "Uh... thank you."

"I... want to apologize... for being a jerk," Sans said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just that... I'm not good with attention, and I don't like royalty that much."

"It's f-fine, but, if y-you don't mind me asking, aren't you royal?" Alphys asked, "How come you d-don't like royals?"

"Exactly for that reason," Sans didn't want to really get into it. "My Dad... isn't the best guy."

"I mean, a-at least h-he's not as bad as the Evil King?"

Sans almost choked from the irony, looking at her while pressing his teeth together. Oh no, he was just as bad as the Evil King, since he was the freaking Evil King.

"But he's up there. He left me at birth for his own ideas for his Kingdom rather than even taking care of his own son."

"Oh, I'm s-sorry to hear."

"But it wasn't fair of me to take it out on you. If you'd let me, I'd like to be your friend."

"Really?" Alphys looked the happiest Sans had ever saw her.

"I mean, it was... actually fun talking to you. And it is, right now. I'm not good with crowds, but if you'd let me be your friend for school, I wouldn't mind."

"Uh, y-yes! Um, w-we can be friends! Y-yeah!"

There was a squeal from outside the door, then a thud following it, the two turning towards the door as they heard footsteps stumble off. Alphys blushed from embarrassment, knowing of the two people it definitely was. Sans felt his soul beating from anxiety, knowing if word was leaked out of his name, he would be screwed.

But the main point of him hating his destiny was that he didn't want to hurt people.

So he wouldn't hurt Alphys through being cold.

"I think our Kingdom is going well so far," Sans said, "The people like us enough, and we're financially stable."

"Y-Yeah, we seem to be doing well," Alphys said, "We can maybe m-make another hospital, since there might be that v-virus spreading."

"It would boost our popularity," Sans agreed, "And I think we should sell our crowns."

"Why?" Alphys asked.

"Use the money for the hospital, that'd definitely get us a double boost. And the crown is really big on my head, I look like an egg head."

"What would humpty d-dumpty say to that?"

"He'd be all over having a crown."

"If he f-fell with a crown o-on, would i-it impale him or help his fall?"

"It'd make more sense if it just broke the shell, it'd probably get stuck in his shell or just shatter it more."

And just like that, they were talking smoothly with one another. It was as if they had been life long friends already, they talked so easily and free with one another. Sans didn't even realize that he had been there for two hours before they were done with their gaming session, the screen flashing they they had completed their homework for the day.

"Princess Alphys," A servant said, stepping inside, "Dinner is prepared. Will your friend be staying for dinner?"

"Uh, yeah, I can probably stay," Sans said, "I just have to shoot Kitty a quick text but other than that, I can probably stay."

"YES!" Alphys yelled.

Pausing after the Princess realized what she just said, Alphys blushed slightly from embarrassment when looking at Sans.

"I-I'm just really happy," Alphys said sheepishly.

"That's cool," Sans said.

~~~~~~

Dinner went better than Sans expected.

No one forced him to take off his hood, and they ended up just watching T.V in Alphys's room while eating the most expensive thing Sans had ever eaten. It was this really fancy chicken stuff, at least Sans thought it was chicken, he couldn't really tell. It practically melted in his mouth as soon as he tasted it. He he had three plates of it, the food was simply amazing.

And man, could he talk about the dessert for hours.

It was totally worth being friends with Alphys, if he got this type of food whenever he came over.

And so, Sans was waved goodbye before he appeared back into his house, a large, goofy grin plastered on his face.

He made a friend!

Kitty sprawled herself over a counter, chewing lightly on a piece of gum. "You look rather happy."

"I made a friend!" Sans said.

"Oh, did you now?" Kitty asked, "With Alphys White?"

"She doesn't know about the whole skeleton thing," Sans said, "Just that my name is Sans and that we both like books and jokes."

"Sans, are you sure this is a good idea? If you even drop a glove and she sees your hand, it's over." Kitty twirled a piece of her hair between her fingers, biting her bottom lip. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

"You think I don't want to either?" Sans took in a breath, pulling his hood. "I'm being careful. She only knows my name, no one's finding out about who I am."

"I can help out, we can maybe get some more hoodies for you?" Kitty asked.

"I have enough for now, I don't want to spend all of Mom's money on more hoodies," Sans said.

"Just... be careful, I care about you," Kitty said, "Please. Promise me you will."

"You know I don't like promises, Kitty."

"I know, but I want to make sure you're being safe. We can't hide away again if people find your identity."

"... Fine, I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Now school was actually fun.

Alphys and Sans started to hang out during the times they could at school, waving to each other between classes and eating lunch together outside. After school everyday they would hang out at each others houses (and by that, only Alphys’), not wanting to really go out in public.

It was a joy to hang out with her, it was the first time Sans had made a friend in a long time. Sure, he had Kitty, but sometimes it could still get lonely when she had other friends to be with. Not to mention how she didn’t fully understand, not like Alphys. She was also his sister on top of it, so it wasn’t the same.

“So, you have to wear dresses all the time?” Sans asked her.

The two monsters sat on a balcony together, one that was off limits to all the students. With Sans’s ability inherited from his Mother, he was able to just unlock it so Alphys could join him, then relock the door to the office. They had problems sitting out in the open near other students, mainly due to all of them trying to approach Alphys and talk to her.

“Yeah, I have to look my best constantly, it really sucks,” Alphys said, “I have to represent the White family all the time.”

One thing Sans noticed was her stutter. When they were alone, and she knew they were friends, she didn’t have anything to be worried about. So she didn’t stutter.

“That’s gotta suck,” He said, “But aren’t you happy about your destiny? You’re going to be a Queen.”

“You don’t really seem happy about being a King,” Alphys said.

“Because I don’t like my Dad,” Sans said.

Alphys took a bite of her salad from her lunch. “I mean, I like my Mom, I love her. But I just don’t like the idea of my destiny, really.”

“You don’t like your destiny too?”

“I… no, I don’t. I don’t want to be Queen, I just… I don’t… not Mettaton. I don’t want to marry Mettaton.”

“You don’t? I thought you two were close.”

“He’s alright, I mean, but… I don’t like… guys.”

Oh.

So, Alphys was…

“So you’re chilling in the closet with me?” Sans asked.

“You’re gay too?” Alphys asked.

“Heck yeah,” Sans said, “Congrats, you’re the first to know from me.”

It wasn’t that Sans didn’t want to tell Kitty, since she supported gay people, it was just that Sans didn’t think it was too big of a deal. He was just gay, it wasn’t something to scream about. Not to mention how Kitty was smart, she probably figured it out already. Seriously, he was so gay the air around him was gay. She definitely knew.

“Exactly what are you two doing here?”

The Head Master was suddenly throwing open the balcony doors, glaring so heavily at the two Sans thought his eyes might actually combust into flames. The tall and broad male jabbed a finger at them, moving it back and forth.

“Alphys White, you should know better than this!” He said, “You’re the daughter of Snow White, you should behave yourself better than this!”

“I-I’m sorry, I just wanted to e-eat lunch with Sans s-somewhere new!” Alphys said, “I s-swear it won’t happen again!”

“I do believe you, but it’s Sans that I’m worried about!” The Head Master said, turning to glare at the masked male. “You’re just like your Father, the-”

“ ** _Don’t say his name._** ”

The air was thick with tension as the two stared one another down, neither wanting to back down. Sans wouldn’t have himself outed, not after he just managed to make a friend. And the Head Master had made it very clear that he didn’t like or would ever trust Sans, not after what his Father had done to the school when he attended there.

“You guys may go to other places in the school open to students, but not to this specific room, especially you Sans,” He said, “If I ever find you in that room, you might be expelled.”

“What?” Sans asked.

“It has something to do with your Father, and it’s to be kept safe and hidden!” The male said.

“Oh yeah, I’m not going to be near that,” Sans muttered out in annoyance, scowling at the thought of being like his Father. “It won’t happen again.”

“I’m sure it will, with your destiny,” The Head Master said.

“I’d rather let that old man and his destiny rot in h*ll, screw him and his beliefs,” Sans growled, “Let’s go Alphys.”

He lightly grabbed her arm and lead her back through the office and out of the doors, their lunches in his other hand as the Head Master watched them walk out. It was disgusting to even think about his Father, sure, he was evil and all, but why would he abandon his only son? Not give him help on making friends, not give him advice or a spell to make himself look like anything other than a skeleton, that’s all his Father had done for him. Give birth to him and leave him screwed over, what a great Dad.

“Sans, a-are you okay?” Alphys asked, stuttering as she tried to keep up his pace. “You’re sort of hurting my hand there…”

“Oh, sorry,” Sans mumbled, letting go of her hand and stopped to a halt in the empty hallway. “It’s just that... Sorry again, Alph.”

“It’s fine.” She rubbed her wrist with her clawed fingers. “Are you alright?”

“I… I just really don’t want anyone to talk about my Dad,” Sans said hesitantly, “I don’t like the idea of people finding out my Dad and what my destiny is supposed to be.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad, Sans,” Alphys said, “I mean, at least it’s not as bad as the being the next Evil King.”

Oh, wow, that…

That was basically spot on, but Sans couldn’t let her know about that. She kept unknowingly nailing the head.

“It’s pretty close, though.” Sans crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, hugging their lunches close to his chest. “I have a really bad destiny, and I don’t wanna do it.”

“I don’t want to do mine either,” Alphys agreed quietly.

They both stood in silence for a moment.

“Do you think… maybe the child of the Evil King doesn’t want to do their destiny either?” Sans asked, “So you won’t have to be poisoned?”

“I doubt it, they’re pure evil.” Alphys didn’t seem to understand how hard that had just hit her best friend. “I mean, aren’t they skeletons because they represent death? It’s in their genes to be evil.”

“But isn’t it inside of your genes to be a perfect queen willing to get poisoned? And isn’t it inside of my genes go be a bad guy too?” Sans asked, pressing a hand against his chest. “You might not have to follow your destiny if the so- child of the Evil King doesn’t follow theirs.”

“No, they’re going to follow it,” Alphys said, looking down at the floor. “Haven’t you seen what the Evil King did to our world? There’s no way he won’t raise his children to do the same. And who knows, maybe they won’t stop at Wonderland. Aren’t you upset that they did that to your home? You’re the son of the Cheshire cat, it was your home.”

“Of course I’m upset, I hate the Evil King. Probably more than anyone else.” Sans looked over at her. “But that was the Evil King, that wasn’t any kid of his. I’m a big believer in justice, trust me. The Evil King deserves to die for everything he’s done, but would you really condemn his kid to that? A kid that has nothing to do with their Dads actions, one that didn’t choose to be born into that role? For all we know, they could be just like us and fighting back against their Father.”

“I don’t think anyone with that much evil in their family history would ever be raised to believe otherwise,” Alphys muttered, “I understand what you’re coming from, but this is personal to me. The Evil King is the reason I have to deal with this stupid destiny. Him and his stupid family.”

Sans held back a sigh. It hurt a bit, knowing his only friend would probably disown him if his hood ever fell down, but he understood where she was coming from. His family screwed over hers for generations, Sans hated his own blood and bones! It was the reason he wore hoodies. The idea of someone seeing who he was had him so terrified he hated showing any of his body anymore. Even pulling up his sleeves to do the dishes made Sans close the curtains on all of the windows before he did.

“Alright, well, we have to go to class anyway,” Sans said, turning away from his one friend. “But I guess we’ll have to find a new spot to eat lunch at.”

“Are you mad?” Alphys asked.

“What?” Sans asked, turning around. “Of course not.”

“I dunno, you just seem kind of mad because of what I said.” Alphys lightly played with her tail.

“I just feel… awkward about it, I guess,” Sans said, looking at her. “I mean, I go to evil classes because of my Dad. You saw what happened back there, so you should know that I have a destiny of evil. And then you go and say that stuff, it’s just a bit awkward. Like those Moms who say they won’t hurt their kids, but then don’t go give them medicine because they’re anti-vax.”

“Yeah, those people are weird,” Alphys muttered, “But I didn’t mean you! You’re cool, and I like hanging out with you!”

“But I’m supposed to be evil,” Sans said, “Do you think I’m evil?”

“No.”

“Then it could be the same with his kid. I don’t know, maybe he is evil and is plotting to hurt you right now, but it feels a little weird when you say that anyone from an evil family is evil when I’m right here.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, I-I-”

She was starting to get nervous now. Alphys was probably panicking, thinking she might have driven away Sans again.

“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” Sans said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m not mad, it just felt a little weird. We’re friends still, and we’ll always be friends. And I understand why you’d hate the Evil King, everyone does, but save me some room to hate him too. You’re hogging all of the hatred.”

“Oh, sorry, sometimes I get really sidetracked whenever I talk about him.” Alphys pushed up her glasses. “But I didn’t mean to insult you, I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine, it wasn’t like you were trying to attack me, I’m not the son of the Evil King, so it’s fine.” Sans waved it off. “But we should really go hunt down a new spot to eat lunch at. We still have over half an hour left, and I fully intend to finish this burger.”

~~~~~~

“I AM SO GLAD YOU’VE DECIDED TO SIT WITH ME!” Papyrus exclaimed loudly.

“He’s kind of… you know, loud,” Alphys whispered to Sans.

“Yeah, but he’s the only one here and he likes to watch animals,” Sans whispered to Alphys, “Would you rather him or go back to the cafeteria where they were chanting your name?”

Alphys paused. “It’d be g-g-great to sit with you, Papyrus!” 


	6. Chapter 6

Actually, this wasn’t a bad setup. Things were going good. Sans had friends! Well, he only had two, but he had friends!

Alphys was the obvious one, and they hung out as much as they could, as neither of them could make close friends. The more surprising friend to join their duo was actually Papyrus.

It was odd, how he somehow managed to slip into their little hangout sessions. Papyrus was just that type of person, open and genuine, wanting to make everyone around him happy. That’s why he had been so pushy on the first day, he had saw that Sans was lonely and wanted to give him a friend.

Somehow, it was somewhat inspiring.

That’s how they became a small group. There was a small opening in the forest next to the school, allowing for the three to sneak away and eat lunch there in peace. Papyrus was the one who fueled most of the conversation, but the other two didn’t mind. He was good company. Sure, the white haired human was loud, and talked a lot about himself, but he had a somewhat charming way about it, and he always made sure to include others.

One thing Papyrus liked to do was watch animals. He really loved all types of animals, so he could often be found with a bunny on his lap or a bird on his shoulder, the tall boy sometimes bringing homemade spaghetti to feed to the animals. Alphys was the daughter of Snow White, so she could easily just hum out a tune and cause animals to come running from the forest for Papyrus.

Know what, maybe it was their skills with animals that allowed for Sans to make his first real friends. After all, he was part cat.

And they learned rather quickly to abuse that.

It had been Kitty, his own sister, who betrayed him out and showed the other two his weak spots. The two were children of the Cheshire cat, so they both did come with some cat like traits. The ears and tails were obvious, but what wasn’t very obvious was their love for attention and being pet. Which was incredibly embarrassing to the two.

So, of course, they naturally sold themselves out to the others friends in a heartbeat.

To be fair, Kitty had been getting payback on Sans for when he had told her close friends about it. He did deserve to get sold out as well, but it felt weird when it was his first ever friends who decided to pet him.

For both of the Cheshire children, their Mother too, behind the ears and under the chin quickly got the Cheshire family purring in mere seconds. It wasn’t a very intimate or romantic thing like people thought it was, which honestly was a weird thought. How would it even be used in bed like people assumed? No, that would just be weird. Being pet and purring was more of a helpful friend or family thing to do, but one that showed a good connection with one another. It was sharing an embarrassing fact about themselves, like admitting a bad tattoo or showing a secret collection of ponies.

But when they pet Sans, he was just down.

Of course it had been Papyrus who pet him first, the human was always eager to do new things and learn about his friends.

It was hard to exactly describe how it felt to be pet. It felt like eating, in a sense. It was nice, and sometimes you liked to binge, but overall they did need to indulge in being pet. They were cats, of course they liked to be pet. It was just a bit degrading to admit, and embarrassing.

There was no fight. The moment Papyrus’ hands had scratched behind his ears, Sans just dropped. Purrs of content rumbled from his chest as the human hand scratched at his hoodie covered ears. Sans had ended up dropping against Papyrus, allowing for the petting to continue as his tail swished happily behind him.

“AW, LOOK AT HIM!” Papyrus said, “HE’S PURRING!”

“He doesn’t like under his chin, but keep petting his ears and tail,” Kitty said, grinning widely at her brothers downfall.

That was a lie, Sans loved being pet under his chin. But if they tried to pet him there, then they would discover nothing but bone.

“I hate-”

Sans had been cut off when Alphys’ hand hesitantly went to pet his tail, going limp once again as his purring grew louder.

“D-Does this mean that you like b-being pet, too?” Alphys had asked Kitty as she carefully continued to pet Sans’ blue fur tail.

“Aaannnddd I have homework to do!” Kitty sang, waving goodbye as she disappeared with a small smile remaining in air before it too vanished.

“THIS IS TOO ADORABLE!” Papyrus exclaimed loudly, hands now solely focused on petting the smaller males head.

Sans couldn’t talk back, the purring in his chest too loud to allow him to talk through it. His face was burning with a blush, but he couldn’t help but lean against his friends, letting their hands gently pet his fur. But he would definitely have to think of pranks later.

This was the Chesire family, it would be a wonder to why anyone thought otherwise about their antics. Of course, they didn’t out Sans’ true identity, but they did like to pull a few embarrassing pranks on one another. Like this.

“Wait, Sans, are you fine with this? This isn’t like harassment or anything?” Alphys asked, jerking back her hand.

“OH MY, I AM SO SORRY!” Papyrus yelped, drawing back his own hands.

Sans responded by grabbing his hand and bringing it back onto his skull, tail flickering with embarrassment. Hey, if they already knew, might as well enjoy it.

“I didn’t say to stop,” Sans said, “And don’t worry, it’s not like harassment or anything. Unless I don’t know you, but you guys are my friends so-”

Sans barely got to finish his sentence before he was cut off by purring again, pushing his head up against the hands as they started to pet him once more.

“Excuse me, Comic Sans.”

Oh, he was in trouble. They had used his full first name, that’s not good.

The HeadMaster stood next to the three, Alphys and Papyrus drawing back to allow for Sans to stop purring.

“Headmaster Grimm?” Sans asked, sitting up with a blush on his bones under his hood.

“Come with me, to my Office. We need to have a chat.” The man turned around briskly. “Do not doddle.”

~~~~~~

Ah, the HeadMasters Office. Sans had seen it plenty of times, as the man did not seem to enjoy Sans’ presence. Curtains were draped over the windows, and the desk was organized with files and paperwork. Everything was tidy and in order, as always.

It explained why the man didn’t like Sans. Sans was the child of his enemy, everyone would and already did hate anyone that was the child of the Evil King. They had many meetings inside of his room, all due to his heritage. He never has even seen his Dad once and the man has screwed him over to this very day.

“There’s no need to wear the hood in here,” The HeadMaster spoke, intertwining his own hands together. “I already know what you look like.”

“I’d rather keep it on, thanks.”

They had this conversation everytime Sans went to his office, and the skeleton didn’t know why. Maybe the HeadMaster thought it would help convince Sans of who he was, to help convince Sans to follow his destined pathway. But they already had that discussion, Sans coming to the conclusion that no matter what anyone did, he would never sign the book.

“If this is about Alphys and me, I already said my case,” Sans spoke, leaning backwards with crossed arms. “She and I are friends, ‘nough there.”

“No, actually. I don’t object to you and her becoming involved, as you two are destined with your destinies. But you’re here because of the event that will be taking place tomorrow.”

Oh, that’s right.

Signing practice.

The Book of Legends, as said before, was the book that held all of their destinies. By signing their name under their destiny, the teenagers would be accepting their lives into becoming the next character within their stories. It granted them the power and path to follow their destinies.

So naturally, the book was too dangerous and powerful to have out for too long. If someone (like Sans’ Dad) got ahold of the book, they could prevent people from signing to their destinies. Or worse, they could sell people their rightful destinies for money, which would throw the system into chaos.

That’s why their Queen, Snow White, had the book herself. To make sure that no one would try to abuse the power.

The only time the book would be brought out was once every four years, for legacy day. That was when all of the students of the school would come together to sign the book, sealing themselves to their fates.

And, of course, that happened to fall onto this year.

“As much as I would love to, I cannot force you to sign the book,” HeadMaster Grimm said, “I will respect you and your Mothers wishes to keep your identity a secret, as I do understand it will throw this school into chaos if it was revealed the son of the Evil King attended. So tomorrow, during Legacy Day practice, you will be working with me.”

“What?” Sans asked.

“As a helper, since you won’t be signing the book,” HeadMaster Grimm said, “Unless you changed your mind.”

“No, my mind is still the same. Not signing.”

“Then considered yourself a helper. Alphys had volunteered too, along with Mettaton, so you will be joining those two to help me keep the students organized. I would have sent you to your normal classes, but classes have been canceled for this event. So, you will instead be helping me. But if you ever change your mind and want to sign-”

“I’m going to stop you there, like I always do,” Sans said, “I’m not going to sign the book. I don’t understand why you want me to sign it so much. If I don’t sign it, there won’t be any Evil King. No one will get hurt.”

“It’s not about who will and won’t get hurt, it’s about balance,” Grimm said, “If you don’t sign your part in the book, then Alphys won’t get poisoned. She won’t have any enemies, and the people will not treat her as the rightful Queen.”

“They already treat her that way, and she hasn’t been poisoned yet. No one will get hurt, Alphys can rule in peace.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you don’t sign the storybook of legends-”

“There is literally no upsides for me to sign!” Sans objected, standing up in annoyance. “I won’t hurt anyone, there won’t be any tyranny. Meanwhile, you guys still haven’t even managed to kill my Dad yet! It’s a better option for me to not sign, and for life to continue peacefully as it is.”

“Sit down, Sans Font.”

“I’m not Font, I’m Cheshire. I’m never going to be Font.”

With an annoyed huff, Sans turned around and walked towards the door, ears pressed down against his skull.

It made no sense why adults were all so focused on following destiny to continue family stories. All they were doing was repeating history, over and over again. No changes, no happiness. There was never a full moment of peace, as the Font family always existed.

Why would Sans sign? It would help everyone not to. But to sign just because it was his destiny was bullcrap. All the adults cared about was familiarly, about knowing what to expect. Parents knew what their children's futures held, and they knew how to direct their children down the exact same path.

That’s why Kitty and Sans liked their Mom. She wasn’t about that. Heck, she hooked with with the Evil King because she wanted to be daring, because she wanted to mix things up. Two fairytale members weren’t supposed to have children unless it was in their destiny, like Alphys and Mettaton. But she broke that rule, creating Sans, the child with two possible destinies. Well, he would have had two, but Kitty was the eldest and was pure Cheshire, so she had that role. And since Sans was the only child of the Evil King, he was destined to that future instead.

“You can’t reject who you are, Sans.”

“I can’t reject who I am because the person you want me to be isn’t me!” Sans responded with annoyance, pushing open the door. “I can reject your images of me because they aren’t me. And they never will be, no matter how much you try to shove me into that mold. I’m never signing the storybook, accept it already.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Paper.”

“Rock. F*ck.”

Sans and Alphys were playing a game of rock, paper, scissors, hands hidden behind the table on the elevated stage as they played. The students of the school were gathering at the seats below. Sans would have been nervous if it was the entire school, and Alphys probably would have been dying in her seat, but thankfully the HeadMaster was only doing small groups at a time. There was barely a collection of fifteen people below. And by how the stage was stationed outside, they were at the back to where they couldn’t even be seen by most of their peers. It was a good setup.

“Stop doing paper, you’re kicking my butt!” Sans said to Alphys.

“Well, stop using rock!” Alphys giggled.

The two continued to whisper to each other before Mettaton was sitting down next to Alphys, a few girls and guys squealing in the audience from his arrival.

Sans could see the deal about him, yeah. Guy was hot. With his slick black hair, attractive facial features, the guy was pretty hot. Ridiculously hot, though. He was a robot monster, which only really added.

Though he was eye candy, he didn’t really add much to any conversation. The topic was always turned onto him, but not in the way Papyrus did it. When Papyrus talked about himself, there was a charm to it. When Mettaton talked about himself, it was…

Well, maybe this was just Sans, but it was annoying. He didn’t really know the guy, and he didn’t want to. Yes, Sans could see the robot had legs for days. Did he care? No.

Okay, maybe a little, but come on. Sans was gay, the guy was hot.

“I just finished dragon slaying class, I apologize for being late,” Mettaton practically bragged, sitting down.

Now that Sans thought about it, there really wasn’t much else for Mettaton to do but brag. Prince Charming wasn’t really supposed to have a unique personality, he was supposed to be outlandish in his achievements, be the man that everyone wanted. If he started to become more like a person, some people wouldn’t find him desirable anymore. That’s why he likely stayed bland, using his body and strength to gather admirers. The guy wanted to follow his destiny, and he was following it.

“I-It’s fine,” Alphys stuttered.

Except for that. Mettaton could never truly follow his destiny, not without the participation of both Sans and Alphys. He would need Alphys to fall in love with him so the kiss would work, and without that she would never wake up. But she couldn’t romantically love him, she was gay. The kiss would never work. Not to mention how Alphys would need to be poisoned by Sans to even start her destiny, but Sans would never be signing the book. He would never poison her, so it would never happen.

Not that it mattered, really. In the end, Alphys would still become Queen, Sans’ part didn’t matter. He just hoped she found a girl to rule with her, not Mettaton. Sure, Snow White ruled over with Prince Charming, but it was the Queen who took on the attention. If Alphys became the Queen, it would happen the same way. And Alphys was an anxious little lizard, being in the spotlight without anyone to fall onto would be her worst nightmare. Having another female to lean onto and have love from would be great for her.

“Hey, guys!”

Two blue scaled hands slammed onto the table, interrupting the three from their thoughts. Sans followed the arms up to the body, then to the face, finding piercing yellow eyes looking down at him.

“O-Oh, hello!” Alphys said quickly, “You’re name, p-please?”

“Undyne Huntsman,” The fish monster said confidently, brushing red hair out of her face. “I came all this way to school to sign the storybook and I can’t have you guys ignoring me.”

“Sorry,” Sans apologized, starting to flip through the pages of his binder.

This was usually the time that people would start moving to school, during the signing year. Children from fairytales far away often would move in during this time of the year to sign. Snow White brought out the book once every year for only specific schools around the world, so teenagers often transferred to a school in their area to sign the book.

Wait, did she say Huntsman?

Only then did Sans catch what she said, looking up with surprise. Alphys had dropped her pen at that point, staring up at the female like she had just pulled a knife on her.

Huntsman. The family that would serve the Evil King in leading Snow White to the forest. That Huntsman? The family that would be returning with the wrong dust? Did he hear correctly?

“H-H-Huntsman?” Alphys repeated.

“Yeah, I transferred this morning,” Undyne explained, “So, what am I supposed to do? They told me to talk to you lads over here.”

“Well, these lads have to find your papers,” Sans said, clearing away the thoughts of his destiny. “Hold on a sec.”

He wasn’t signing, so she wouldn’t be working for him. It was fine.

“Her p-p-paper is probably with me, s-since we have t-the same d-destiny binds,” Alphys stuttered lightly, “Um, nice to meet y-y-you, though.”

“Same destiny binds?” Undyne asked, “We’re involved in the same destiny?”

“Yeah, I-I’m… I’m Alphys… W-White,” Alphys said.

The lizard slightly retreated back into her chair, as if expecting Undyne to bounce up and down like everyone else, or to freak out and run away like Sans did. Poor Alphys, she never did get the right reactions to her name.

Until now, it seemed.

“Um, okay.”

That was it. No freak out, no attention, nothing. Just a plain acception of Alphys’ name.

“W-Wait, what?” Alphys asked.

“Hey, we gotta hurry this up, I only came in today to practice signing, then I have to go catch lunch,” Undyne said.

Oh, so she didn’t know who the White family was? The girl didn’t seem to care about last names, or school for that matter. Which meant she wouldn’t freak out about Alphys’ name.

“Oh, um, yeah! Yeah!” Alphys said, returning to the papers. “You have to catch lunch, though?”

Her turn around was almost immediate. Alphys wasn’t stuttering, and she was asking about Undyne. Her posture changed, too, leaning forward. It was someone she could talk to normally, of course she was excited now. Undyne wasn’t freaking out or doing anything crazy like everyone else did, she was having a normal conversation with Alphys.

“Yeah, go into the woods and bag a few of those suckers! Prove I’m the Alpha of the forest,” Undyne cackled, leaning against the table.

Okay, a somewhat normal conversation. Either way, it was better than her stuttering as someone else freaked out over her last name!

“I found your paper, uh, Undyne,” Alphys had said, checking off the right side. “What you want to do is walk up, and grab the pen on the right…”

Alphys gave the explanation to how to practice signing and how it would work on signing day, no words stuttered. Their conversation was carrying along nicely before Undyne was ushered out by a teacher, needing to sign the book and go back to class so the other students could practice signing. There was a lot of students who needed to practice, there was no doubt this would take over the course of a few weeks to ensure everyone had practiced.

While Mettaton had started talking to the next person in line, Sans leaned over to Alphys, gently poking her shoulder. The lizard looked at him, a smirk on her features.

“You want another go? I’m feeling pretty confident with paper,” Alphys said, readying herself for another round.

That was the thing about Alphys. She could be confident and smart, even cocky and witty if she really was feeling it. But whenever her anxiety of her destiny was brought up, she immediately started to shut down from the pressure. It really sucked, especially since the girl was extremely smart with science and clearly was passionate about it.

That’s why Sans connected with her. They shared that problem of their destinies, the pressure they felt. She was his first friend in years, and he was glad to call her that. Alphys was a fun dorky friend to nerd out on about fanfiction and anime, so they didn’t have to resort to using the internet to fill their lonely lives.

“If you wanna go hunt her down and talk to her more, I’ll cover you here,” Sans whispered to her.

“You will?” Alphys asked.

“Heck yeah!” Sans said, “C’mon, that chick sounds awesome. I’ll say you went to the bathroom, you go hunt her down and ask her to join lunch with us.”

“Yeah, okay! Thank you!” Alphys whispered.

And just like that, she was slipping out of her seat, and was on her way to find Undyne.

~~~~~~

It wasn’t really hard to find the scaley monster. Her red hair and dark blue scales were practically a beacon, the girl stuck out like Alphys did. Though, unlike Alphys, no one flocked to her like they did royalty. No one but Alphys.

It was easy to see why. As much as Alphys hated how people judged by appearance, it was a common action she had grown to deal with. That’s why she wore dresses, why she had to avoid mud, had to spend hours getting custom clothing.

Undyne was quite the opposite. Her clothes were old and dirty, jeans worn and covered with dried mud. Her hair was greasy, and her teeth were sharp and unkept. Everything about her screamed rebellion and freedom, the opposite of what Alphys’ outfit softly whispered.

So, naturally, Alphys loved the way Undyne looked. She looked so cool!

“Oh, hey! Alphys White chick!” Undyne said, “You want to come hunting with me?”

That would have been a terrible idea. Her Mother wouldn’t have approved, as Alphys wasn’t supposed to be getting her hands dirty. And going out into the woods to kill the creatures she was supposed to be friends with would have only upset her further.

“No, no, sorry, I can’t,” Alphys said, “But do you want to come hang out with us during lunch?”

“Sure, I was just going to eat in the woods, but once I catch my lunch I’ll skip on over,” Undyne said, starting to walk away. “See you at lunch then!”

“But I haven’t told you where-”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Undyne said as she continued to walk away, giving Alphys a small wave. “I’ll find you guys, real good at finding things in the forest!”


	8. Chapter 8

And so, the four were now a group.

A real friend group. It made Sans giddy whenever he thought about it, A real friend group, one where he had more than one friend! Three friends! It was a lot more than he had expected, really.

The losers had all grouped together was what happened. Sans was obvious to why he wasn’t very social, maybe if he put himself out there he would have more friends, but he found himself so afraid of rejection that he never does. While Alphys has a lot of admirers, she had no real friends. Papyrus was a bit too energetic, most people tended to be scared off by his extroverted self.

Then there was Undyne, their newest addition to the group.

It was surprising to find out that Undyne and Papyrus actually knew each other. Apparently they cooked together before Papyrus had moved to the school, and the two had been pretty close. The two were natural hunters, were raised that way, so they had went on hunting trips before they would have cooking sessions. But the two were terrible cooks, as Sans quickly learned, so they weren’t teaching one another anything useful.

Unexpectedly, Sans actually really liked Undyne. He figured she would just become friends with Alphys, and that he would tag along with his friend, but she was actually really cool to him too. She didn’t become the friend of his friend, she actually became his friend as well. Everyone in the group were pretty good friends now, and it was awesome.

“Homeschooled your entire life?” Sans asked.

“That sounds amazing,” Alphys sighed.

“Well, it would be if we didn’t live in the middle of the woods!” Undyne said, sharpening her makeshift spear. “I mean, it’s the best place to live, I freaking love being secluded. But it makes it hard to socialize with other people when you’re in the forest.”

“THAT’S HOW WE MET! WE WERE BOTH HUNTING THE SAME DEER!” Papyrus said, “OF COURSE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS DID MANAGE TO GET THE DEER FIRST!”

“Neither of us got the deer you doofus!” Undyne said, lightly hitting his shoulder. “It got away, we ended up having to hunt down a new deer! They take forever to find!”

“INDEED!” Papyrus said, clapping his hands. “BUT THE CHALLENGE IS WHAT MAKES IT FUN!”

“Hey, at least you came to the school, gives you more of a chance to make friends,” Sans said, pointing a fork at her. “Might wanna transfer and make it of-fish-al.”

“SANS!” Papyrus screeched, Undyne snorting at his pun.

“You heard the punk, make as many puns as you can within the remaining lunch period,” Undyne told Sans, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

“SANS, YOU’VE TAINTED UNDYNE! NO!” Papyrus objected.

“One of us, one of us!” Alphys chanted.

“One of us, one of us!” Sans joined in.

Lunch was probably his favorite time of the day. It was the only period he could see all of his friends. Sure, Sans had Alphys in their Kingdom Management class, but Papyrus and Undyne weren’t in there. Sans did have Papyrus and Undyne in Defense and Attack class, but Alphys wasn’t there. This was the only time they could all join together.

He already liked all of his friends so dearly. They were all amazing and fun to hang out with. It made him giddy just how happy he’s become recently.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as the bell rang, causing everyone to stirr. Alphys collected her lunch and turned to go the opposite way of the other three, who all had class together after lunch.

~~~~~~

Leaves rustled gently around Sans as he clicked through his mirror, scrolling down to see the latest message from Alphys. Bark dug into his sneakers as he moved, looking up at the large river in front of the tree he was stationed in with a sigh.

He would have to wait until tomorrow to continue their Kingdom Management assignment, as Alphys had after school lessons she was forced to take that Friday night. It really sucked that she had to take lessons at home as well, she never really did get a break.

Alphys was the only one he really hung with after school, and that was only due to their assignment. Either way, it was extremely fun. They messed around on the game, then they would talk about books and other things, just hanging out like friends. Alphys had even given Sans one of her favorite books, “A Monster Calls”, the cover was firm as he pulled it out of his bookbag. She had several copies, and had given one of them to Sans so he could enjoy rereading it after he finished it. The skeleton was only halfway through so far.

But hanging out more with his friends sounded really fun. Not with just Alphys, but everyone. Papyrus was loud and energetic, but he was a loud goofball that cared. Sans was actually happy Papyrus got his destiny, it was a good one. He would be helping those in need and putting those who abused others in jail, it was perfect for him. Papyrus no doubt was happy about that, and Sans was happy for him. Papyrus deserved that praise.

Alphys deserved a good life too, and hopefully she would obtain it. The lizard didn’t seem happy about her destiny, though. Why would she be? She would be forced to be surrounded by people and spotlights constantly, with a man she didn’t love, constantly pressured to be perfect. The White family was expected to be amazing, and Alphys couldn’t escape that notion. She deserved happiness, and if that was found not being ruler, she should have that option to not be a Queen.

Undyne, though, Sans wasn’t sure about. Her destiny was a brief one, one that didn’t really result in an everlasting future, not like Alphys’ or Papyrus’. It was only one occurrence, then she would be done. She had the freedom to pick whatever choices she would like after her destiny was completed. Sans really wished he had that option. He wished everyone did.

Only a portion of destinies had that choice of freedom after an act. All Undyne would have to do was simple, if Sans did follow his destiny (which he never would), she would have to lead Alphys out into the woods and bring back a box full of fake dust to Sans, then she would be done. Her father had played his part, and had taken a cabin in the woods afterwards to enjoy his life. That would explain why Undyne was raised homeschooled, their destiny wasn’t a very impactful one.

Not everyone had that luxury. Papyrus would forever be bound to serving the people as their protector, just like his Father was still doing. Alphys, too, would forever be bound to her Royal position, forced to be Queen for the rest of her life once she awoke from her curse. Even the Hair sisters, Bratty and Catty, the daughters of Rapunzel, would be bound to royalty. The eldest would become Queen, and would have to serve their Kingdom until they died. Nevertheless, the two passed on below him, following the river, chatting loudly and eagerly, distracting Sans from his book. The two loved being Royalty, and that was alright. As long as they were happy with their destinies.

Then there was Sans. If he signed the book, he would forever be cursed to a future of evil and misery. Being the Evil King wasn’t a destiny he could escape from, just like his Father.

To be honest, Sans wasn’t really sure what ever happened to his Father. His Father had abandoned him with his Mother as an infant, causing Sans to have no memories of his Dad. Not that he wanted to, he loved having only his Mom, she was great. Everyone knew the Evil King was alive, he was extremely hard to kill, and everyone knew that the man was now gone, vanished. No one knew where to, though. And Sans didn’t want to know.

With a sigh, Sans picked up his mirror once more, looking down at his reflection as it wasn’t turned on. He couldn’t see his skeletal features from his reflection, the trademark sign of evil. Skeletons were associated with death and destruction, naturally the Evil King heritage was made of only skeletons. It was a dominate monster trait, anyone who was even slightly related to him would look like a skeleton. Skeleton monsters were one of the few with large advantages due to their bones. They were light, agile, able to be under water or next to a volcano as they had no lungs to breath or skin to become hot. Skeletons could sit out in the snow all day and be fine, not to mention their immunity to poisons and chemicals as they had no digestive system. Then, of course, he obtained magical abilities from his Father, so Sans was also capable of doing magic. Most people couldn’t, so he didn’t use it very much.

But Sans knew his magic was pretty strong, even if he never practiced too much with it. Magic itself was rare for monsters or humans to have naturally. Some could use magical enchanted books or potions from other magical sources, but being born naturally with magic was incredibly rare. Only people with magical destinies were born with magic, like Sans. It was why Papyrus was so surprised when Sans had shown him magic when they met, it was rare to find someone who could use it.

The sounds of the creaky bridge being stepped on caused Sans to look up. The bridge to cross the river was one of the many ways to go to the school, not that Sans or Kitty ever used it with their magic. He used it a few times, but it was not fun to walk on. It creaked and groaned, and a sharp burst of wind could cause anyone to tilt over and spill into the river, no matter how good their balance was. Everyone in town, and everyone who attended the school knew to avoid the bridge and go down a different street to get to the school. Only a few really went on the bridge, mostly it was kids who played on it and didn’t mind falling in, and some teenagers who didn’t care how they got to school or if they arrived soaking wet, they were in a hurry. It was easy to tell the students that slept in if they came in covered in water. The current was rather slow, but it was a deep river. Not rather dangerous for any monster.

Except for a monster like the one who was trying to cross.

Monster elementals weren’t too uncommon, but everyone knew certain climates would kill one faster than a knife. If a water monster was forced to cross a desert, they would start to evaporate. Grass elementals had to avoid fire like the plague. And, of course, fire elementals should try to avoid water. Some monster types were more protected against the world, like skeletons, and other monster types were more vulnerable, like elementals.

The fire monster seemed hesitant, as he should be. There were no railings for him to grip onto, so he was easing himself forward. He looked to have good balance, but it was rather windy that afternoon. It didn’t matter how good your balance was, Papyrus was trained to battle people and even he had fallen in when he tried to cross it. It was unstable, even the most agile tended to fall in, Sans included. He only escaped getting wet by teleporting away to avoid the splash, Sans didn’t like water. He doubted this fire monster had the same ability to avoid a watery grave like Sans did. He continued to edge forward, trying not to upset the balance with an extremely fearful expression on his face, staring down at his feet. The guy managed to get halfway, he was doing good with the balance. Extremely good. Even Sans and Kitty were part cat with good balance, and they both tumbled in only after a few steps.

Sans pulled both his mirror and book into his bookbag, not bothering to close it as he started to climb down the tree with the object in hand. The guy wasn’t going to get across, not with this much wind, and not on his own. Did he not realize there were other ways around town? Heck, there was a better bridge inside of town, which was why no one bothered to fix this bridge. It wasn’t one meant to be used unless someone wanted a shortcut, and didn’t care about water. However, this guy was made out of fire, and was practically giving himself the death sentence.

When Sans landed on the ground, he had been looking at his feet to make sure he landed well, so he hadn’t seen any of the progress the fire boy had made. Only when he heard the splash did the skeleton look up.

The elemental fell in!

There was no hesitation before Sans dropped his bookbag, rushing towards the river and diving in. He was a fire elemental, if Sans didn’t get him out _right now_ he was going to die!

Water surrounded him as Sans delved under the surface, feeling the cold pressure of water gently press against his bones. Fire elementals at least had some protection from water than normal fire, as they were living and breathing creatures fueled by their souls. Just because they could last slightly longer didn’t mean water wasn’t dangerous to them.

Sans managed to grab ahold under the teenagers arms, unaware that his hood had drifted down until now, as the image of the fire elemental underwater was worrying. Sans could see his body breaking down, the left half of his face turning to a substance like charcoal. The fire elemental was limp, likely unconscious from just hitting the water. His arms were slightly sluggish as he went to grasp at Sans, and Sans couldn’t tell if that was the water or him unconsciously clinging to anything else for survival.

Water rushed around the two as Sans managed to swim up to the surface, breaking through the top and swimming towards the shore as fast as he could. Sans could feel his bare skull against the wind and the weight of the limp fire monster as he swam, using his magic to aid in increasing their speed. Once Sans managed to stumble onto the shore, he hauled the other completely out of the water, setting him down on the grass.

He looked terrible. The left side of his face was entirely gone, the edges caked in black charcoal as a way to preserve his remaining flames from the water. The remaining side of his face was less vibrant than before he had fallen in, flames barely reaching the heights they did previously, wilting down. This guy was made out of fire, he should have known to not risk walking across that bridge!

Sans didn’t let his mind dwell as he focused his magic, ears pressed against his visible skull from worry. Sans’ magic wasn’t fantastic, as he never practiced much with it to the extent that he should, but he had enough knowledge to heal him up. His flames didn’t reach as high as Sans would like, but Sans had managed to heal his face and his arms, along with his missing left shoulder. He must have hit the water from his left top side, which would explain the parts of the body that took the most damage.

There, he looked decently better now. Not on the verge of death anymore, with his flames slowly growing as they regained their life force after Sans had given a decent amount of magic to keep him alive. Not perfect, but maybe after a day of recovery he should be fine. Just to get rid of that charcoal stuff still stuck between his flames that Sans had missed and to regain all of his fires momentum. He didn’t look great, but he was alive and stable, nowhere near dying. His clothes were still wet, but Sans could see it was starting to evaporate.

Sans had just saved his life. He was going to be fine.

The skeleton let out a sigh of relief, stumbling back onto his feet. He did it, he actually did it! The skeleton was breathing hard, tail limp behind him. He just saved someone’s life!

Only once his adrenaline from the possibility of someone else dying calmed down did Sans realize his hood was down, eye sockets going wide. He took a quick look around, panic settling in. No one was around, good, but that didn’t mean it would continue to stay empty. Not many people did come around to the bridge at this time, which was why Sans had decided to read there and enjoy the scenery from the tree, but people still did come around. Heck, the guy might wake up soon!

Sans did one final check to make sure he was alright before he hurried towards his bag, pace increasing when he heard the fire elemental start coughing. Sans picked it up quickly, not noticing the thud of something dropping out before he teleported away.

~~~~~~

The mirror on their wall continued to play in the background as Kitty sat on their couch, scrolling through options for them to have dinner that night. Neither were good cooks, they tended to buy easy, simple recipes or takeout. She’d have to figure out what Sans would want for dinner, but she didn’t want to interrupt his reading. She knew reading was really important to him.

Kitty was caught off guard by Sans’ sudden appearance in the living room, water dribbling down to the carpet from his soaked clothes. His blue ears were pressed against his skull, both of them damp with water just like his tail was, favorite blue hoodie entirely soaked. For the first time in awhile, his hood was down, showing off his wide eye sockets as he held his bookbag at his side.

“Long day?” Kitty asked.

Sans did nothing but nod, shaking his head to get some of the water off of his cat ears.

“Chinese food it is,” Kitty said, clicking on her mirror. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Did you hear?”

The magical words Sans loved to hear, already listening to their conversation. Just because Sans was quiet in class didn’t mean he didn’t listen, oh no. Sans heard each and every conversation around him. Not that Sans would ever do anything with the information, but he knew of it.

As a Cheshire, his sister naturally leaned forward in her chair next to him, the two eager to hear the information. Gossip was naturally important to them.

Their Wonderland class was rather empty, due to the lack of Wonderland creatures. Most of them were in Wonderland itself, everyone in their class had been raised in the normal world. Which was good for Sans, because he had been raised in Wonderland before he and Kitty had come here to escape.

“About the new kid?”

As book signing practice was occurring, there was a lot of new students. Like Undyne, who was a new student for a good amount of time now.

“The fire one, yeah.”

Temmie, the daughter of the Mad Hatter, bounced in her seat. Sans drew back slightly with hearing that, his sister looking at him. She knew about his activities that Friday afternoon.

“What about him? I heard he’s really cute.”

“He is, yeah. But that doesn’t matter, apparently he’s looking for his savior. I heard he had crossed the old bridge and someone had pulled him out when he had tried to get to the school to get a tour, since he was starting out today and all.”

Kitty gave Sans a look, one of amusement. She mouthed the word ‘savior’ to him, and he made a face back.

“Isn’t he made of fire? Why’d he be stupid and do that?”

“He’s from a different town, he didn’t know there was a better bridge in town. But that’s not what matters. He’s looking for the person who saved him. He asked me this morning, said it was a boy our age.”

He had been awake during that?

Oh…

Oh no.

“That’s so romantic!”

“No, no, he said he was looking for a _skeleton_.”

The teacher remained unaware of their conversation as the woman droned on, just as she always did. Sans retreated back into his seat from the last word, hoping to disappear from the world in that moment.

“No way, you mean... like the Evil King’s child? You think someone like that lives in town?”

“I dunno, he might have been hallucinating. Guy told me he had blacked out right after he saw a skeleton head, like a skull. He might have just seen a white monster and mistaken it for a skeleton.”

“Maybe, that’s a wild jump though. A skeleton here… and saving him, nevertheless! I could believe the child of the Evil King would be here for the StoryBook of Legends to sign their destiny, but I don’t believe he would be saving anyone.”

“Or she! You don’t know if the child of the Evil King is a boy or girl.”

“That’s why I think he was just seeing things, there’s no way a skeleton would save him. He probably just saw a boy monster with a white face and assumed it was a skeleton because he blacked out…”

Sans was lost from the conversation by a harsh tug on his ear, turning to see his sister giving him an expression of _‘what the actual f*ck, Sans?_ ’. It was an expression not needed, as Sans was giving that rant to himself internally.

That was it, he was screwed. His action of saving someone had actively screwed him over. Was this what happened when you went against your destiny? The world would effectively cause so many days of twisting and weaving through lies to go down the drain?

Sans had saved the guy, and the guy was going to out him. Fantastic.

There was no doubt he had saw the blue hoodie, and the ears and tail when Sans had saved him. That was it, he was going to see Sans that day and was going to make a big deal out of it. Turn in Sans to the authorities, ruin all of Sans’ friendships. Everything he had worked so hard for.

Kitty didn’t yell when she had brought Sans to the side after class, no. That was what made her such an amazing sister, so much so that Sans almost cried.

She hugged him. In a corner of an empty hallway, she had hugged her brother. Kitty knew, in times like this, they shouldn’t be fighting. Sans had done what was right, he had helped someone from dying.

“We’ll get through this,” She whispered against him, closing her eyes. “We’ll get through this, the two of us. Like we always have.”

“Yeah,” Sans whispered, hugging her back.

He almost believed it.

It wasn’t like the two were stupid enough to not prepare for things like this. But there wasn’t much to help them. The HeadMaster only allowed Sans to attend to ensure he knew where Sans was seven hours of the day, he still didn’t trust him. They couldn’t return to Wonderland either, so they were stuck in this world. The money their Mom had left was a good amount, and they could sell the house she had bought in this world as a backup for Wonderland, but they didn’t have a backup for her last resort plan!

No one liked the Evil King or his child, there would be a riot if he was exposed. So he would have to stay at home, to avoid that from the students. From his peers. From his friends.

Kitty and Sans were smart and quick, thankfully. Sans couldn’t skip school that day, it would be suspicious. A skeleton was spotted Friday, and then suddenly Sans was skipping school? What if Sans skipped and then, when Grillby asked someone, they would say “I don’t know, but you should ask Sans when he comes back tomorrow”? What if he returned and the fire monster had heard about him and hunted him down?

The best idea would be to keep things the same, but to avoid the flame monster. Sans and Kitty kept their ears open and mirrors on at all times, anxiously listening to conversations. No one acted different around Sans during third period, the fire guy probably hadn’t managed to ask everyone yet. Sans kept on listening to talk, but there wasn’t much. Everyone he had asked was assuming he was crazy, because if there was a skeleton in town, _surely_ their HeadMaster would have told the school. Which was good for Sans.

Sans did see him. On his way to fourth period, he spotted the fire monster, who was busy asking the River Person about any skeletons. Thankfully, being secretive was not too uncommon, quite a bit of students wore hoods such as the child of the Pied Piper, River Person. Sans had almost hurried away before he saw the fire monster pull out something from his bag, showing it to the other across the hall.

His book. A Monster Calls. The one Alphys had given him.

Quickly, Sans peeled his bookbag off of his back and pulled it open, rummaging inside. His textbooks were all there, as were his notebooks and mirror. The book wasn’t in there.

He had dropped it by the river right before he left, because he never zipped up his bookbag.

The fire monster was using it to try and find him.

If it was just the book, that would be fine. Who could connect a book to him? Only Alphys could really say she gave it to him, but that was a good time ago, not to mention the school and town library had several copies as well. No, what he could connect to Sans was the notes.

Sans liked to buy books so he could write inside of them. Thank the lord Toby Fox he never wrote down his name or anything related to him, as he often took notes of the books, but still, those notes were rather important to him and he didn’t even show Alphys them, only Kitty knew about them. Some were about the book, writing down strengths and weaknesses, but also underlining moments and writing predictions about future plot details, twists, things like that. Not to mention comments he wrote, little puns and jokes he sometimes sprinkled in, and Sans was pretty sure he drew a weird looking dog doing a little dance in the corner of a page. The fact that Sans wrote notes like that in books he read, and the fact that his drawing skills were just as bad as the dog he drew could link that book back to him. And, frankly, a little embarrassing, but one problem at a time.

Yeah, if Kitty didn’t have anxiety before, she did now when she heard the guy had Sans’ book.

Lunch was nerve racking for Sans. Of course Alphys had heard about the skeleton, she was the daughter of Snow White. But when Sans heard both Papyrus and Undyne had been questioned, he almost wilted away in his seat.

“What did he ask?” Alphys asked the two.

“JUST ABOUT A SKELETON, AND IF THERE WAS ANY IN TOWN,” Papyrus replied casually.

“Please! If there was any, I’d kick their a*s!” Undyne yelled, pumping her fist out to display her strength.

There goes Sans’ safety.

“Oh, um, thanks!” Alphys said, “But if there was any, I feel like I would be told. I know the Evil King has a child, but I don’t think the HeadMaster would let them go here.”

No, it was quite the opposite. He _insisted_ Sans go there, he wanted Sans to sign for his destiny. Even though Sans made it clear he would never sign the book, the HeadMaster still liked being able to watch the skeleton during the school day, and liked that he still was “training” Sans for his destiny.

“THAT’S WHAT I TOLD HIM. HE SAID ALL HE REMEMBERED WAS A SKELETON FACE BEFORE HE BLACKED OUT, HE WAS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT IT!” Papyrus said.

So… that meant…

He didn’t see Sans’ hoodie, or his ears. He didn’t know Sans was a Cheshire, he didn’t know what he wore. He only knew the skeleton part.

“HE THEN ASKED ABOUT THE BOOK HE FOUND,” Papyrus continued, “TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO IT BELONGED TO, AS HE CLAIMS THE PERSON WHO SAVED HIM MUST HAVE DROPPED IT.”

Sans would admit he was a little upset over dropping it, he really had enjoyed the book so far. And he had written a lot of notes on the pages. Sans had already placed an order for a new book online to get shipped to his house, so Alphys wouldn’t be confused on where the copy she had gifted him was, but he was going to lose all of his notes. Sans wouldn’t rewrite them on the new book, to avoid suspicion his way. Not that he would remember every note anyway.

“The guy is probably just crazy,” Sans said, “I mean, he says he saw them for only a second before he blacked out, could’a been just a regular monster or a pale human. And anyone could have dropped the book. I heard he slipped on the creaky bridge, it’s on the path to school, so anyone attending could have dropped their book.”

“He was really bent up about finding his savior, I think he just feels guilty that he never got to thank them and is grasping at straws trying to find them,” Undyne said, ripping a piece of meat from an animal she had caught earlier that lunch period and had cooked on a fire. “I would be bent out of shape trying to find someone if they saved me, and had nothing to go on.”

“Yeah,” Sans agreed, before he quickly changed the subject.

~~~~~~

Sans once again found himself perched in a tree branch, watching as the students all left the school in their groups. He would have to go to Alphys’ soon, but not for a bit.

Kitty was ecstatic to hear everything was going to be fine. And it was! The fire guy only saw the skeleton and found the book, nothing connecting to Sans in any way. Well, unless he let it slip about the book or he dropped his hood, but Sans wasn’t going to do that. He didn’t want to risk losing his friends.

When the tree started rustling from movement Sans had let out a loud (and frankly embarrassing) squeak of surprise, looking down to find none other than the fire guy climbing up the tree, only a few branches below from his. The tree that was hard to climb, that Papyrus had fallen from.

It was extremely impressive, how fast he had scaled the tree without Sans noticing. The fire guy wasn’t even breaking a sweat or anything showing exhaustion, going from branch to branch like no one’s business. He reached Sans in a second after the skeleton had squeaked, something he would forever be glad Kitty did not hear.

“Dude, the heck?” Sans asked, shuffling backwards on the branch.

“Ah, sorry,” The fire elemental apologized, “I didn’t mean to make you, uh, squeak.”

Sans blushed from that, ears pressing against his head as his skull blushed blue. The fire guy wouldn’t be able to see it from his hoodie covering his face, though.

“Give a cat a warning,” Sans said.

“Sorry, again,” The fire guy said, “I’m just really good at climbing. I’m Grillby, Grillby BeanStalk.”

Oh, a BeanStalk, from the story Jack and the Beanstalk. That would explain why he had amazing balance on the bridge, and why he managed to scale up this high in the tree so quickly. The fire monster seemed to have no problem this high up, no fear of falling evident. Of course he didn’t, he’s probably been climbing his entire life. No wonder he also dared to cross an impossible path on the bridge, his destiny had him climbing up to the clouds. 

“Uh, Sans. Sans Cheshire.”

Sans wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Did Grillby actually see his blue hoodie, then chased Sans up the tree when he spotted that same hoodie?

“I figured you were a Cheshire, it’s actually why I climbed up here to talk to you,” Grillby said, “Cheshires usually know a lot of stuff, so I figured you might know the town well. Like the people who live here.”

So that was his motive. He was trying to see if Sans knew a skeleton in town. It made sense that he’d try to ask the Cheshire siblings. Whenever people had questions about others, Kitty was usually asked. The Cheshire family was entirely based around secrets, of course they would be aware of everyone else’s. They were watchers.

“Yeah, I do, know a lot of people here.”

“Do you know if there’s any skeletons in town?”

“No, there’s not. Sorry bud.”

Then, of course, Grillby brought out the book from his side bag, holding it out for Sans to see.

“Do you know who owns this, then?” Grillby asked.

Sans pretended to look over the cover for a moment. Yeah, it was the book Alphys had lent him. No doubt about it.

“I don’t think that’s going to give you any leads,” Sans said, “There’s a lot of books in town, and there’s no skeletons here.”

“Are you sure?” Grillby asked, flipping it open. “I mean, there’s notes in here and-”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Sans said, cutting him off.

With a huff, Grillby sighed, settling down onto the branch. Sans watched him, noticing his flames dancing across his head with annoyance. He looked fully healed, that was good.

“Thanks anyway,” The fire elemental said, giving Sans a small smile before he started to retreat down the tree once more.

Sans didn’t feel like the tree was a good spot to hang out anymore. Things kept happening whenever he sat here.


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn’t easy to forget about what his Dad did, when there was no much evidence around. Sans always felt guilty whenever he saw what his Father had done, just how many people he had hurt. 

One didn’t have to go far to find the society still recovering from his Father, even to this day. Most of the damage had been repaired, but Wonderland itself was a great example, the King’s last major ‘screw you’ to Sans before he finally vanished. 

Sans had heard about the abandoned castle, he was told about it. The castle of the Evil King, that had been left behind when Snow White had fought back against him, as their destiny spoke of. Technically, it was supposed to be Sans’, but he didn’t want it. He never wanted to visit it, but the HeadMaster decided to make a field trip there to show some of his “top” students the castle of the Evil King. 

Really, it was just the students he felt like needed to be nudged to follow their paths, but it was aimed at Sans.

It was odd how most of the destiny parents acted. They didn’t want violence, they only wanted peace and happiness. Yet when Sans offered them that, they got mad at him. They didn’t see the peace Sans wanted, they saw a child who refused to follow his destiny. Apparently, to the HeadMaster, being violent and predictable was better than giving peace and not following his destiny.

That’s what he had said that day, when he had informed Sans it was a required field trip for him. Sans was always in his Office at this point, it was quite normal. He got used to seeing himself in the mirror on the wall. 

The bus bounced down the road, Kitty scrolling down her mirror on her lap next to him. This trip wasn’t for the top students, that was obvious. It was the HeadMaster just reminding everyone he felt like he needed to that the Evil King and his child was evil. 

The guy wasn’t completely bad, at least. He just didn’t trust Sans. He let him wear his hoods, he protected his identity. He didn’t force Sans to do anything outside of following school rules, he just didn’t agree with what Sans believed, but let the skeleton follow his own path. Just without any support. 

It was a weird collection of people that was attending, two buses full traveling towards the castle. Obviously, both he and Kitty were attending, as they were related to the Evil King. Well, Kitty wasn’t related to him. Not by blood. More of a step daughter, so she had no tie in his destiny. 

Papyrus and Undyne were sitting across from Sans, Undyne sharpening her spear she tended to carry on her despite the danger of holding it up, especially with how bouncy the bus was. Neither of them seemed concerned, they had both been training for years, they were good with weapons. Alphys was in her own limo, she wasn’t allowed on the normal buses.

Most of the students here were just random, it felt like. Though Sans could see why the HeadMaster would bring everyone that dealt with his destiny, Undyne and Alphys, along with his other friend, Papyrus. The HeadMaster had said he actually doesn’t mind that Sans had friends, he supported Sans interacting with the people from his destiny. He just wanted them to push Sans to what he believed was “right”. 

Unsurprisingly, Grillby was brought along, too. The fire monster sat in the back of the bus, seeming quiet and reserved to himself. He wasn’t very shy, but his introduction at the beginning of the week didn’t do him many favors to get friends. Maybe if he was royalty, or a higher story, he would have had some help, but he didn’t, like Undyne. Their stories were shorter, but at least Undyne’s served a role in the story of Snow White. Grillby’s story was isolated, and his introduction spouting about a skeleton sealed the deal. Everyone was off put by him.

The HeadMaster had given Sans a long lecture, he was pretty angry to find out that Sans had saved Grillby then ditched him, causing drama to unfold. What he was really mad about was that Sans saved him, for some reason. 

Poor Grillby, Sans wasn’t sure what to feel about him. The guy wasn’t trying to make friends, and so far his first week wasn’t that great because of that. Sans knew what it was like to be alone, to be an outcast, and he never would wish that for another person. 

But the fire guy wasn’t trying. He held the book Sans dropped, even on the bus, he seemed to carry it everywhere. Was Sans saving him that important? 

It was all Grillby had talked about that week, really. He kept trying to find the savior, unaware that the savior didn’t want to be found. He quieted down about it, but Sans had seen him in the hallways. Looking around, researching in the library during freetime. Not what a new student should be doing. 

A thick jacket clung to his top, much like everyone else. It was colder where they were heading, they were told to bring extra clothes. Sans wore a different hoodie that day, one that was thicker, but more easily tearable due to its materials. It was too thick to wear a shirt under, really; it became too uncomfortable. He stopped wearing it awhile ago, when Kitty had bought his favorite blue hoodie. 

Undyne’s was massive, so massive it looked more like a sleeping bag. Probably because she lived in the forest, if she went hunting in the cold she would need a really thick coat. Likely the only alternative she had. 

At least this trip wouldn’t be an entire waste. Everyone was going to stay in a hotel room after they visited the castle in the closest town, and would get the next day to explore the new town. It sounded pretty fun, Sans was pretty excited. He didn’t get out much anymore, and he was rooming with Papyrus, so that was going to be interesting.

It was weird, how they insisted people room with the same gender even though a good amount of the student body was gay. Like Sans, Alphys, and Papyrus. Why were Papyrus and Sans allowed rooming if they were openly gay? It didn’t make much sense if the HeadMaster wanted to prevent anyone from doing anything. Not that Sans liked Papyrus that way, he more saw him like a brother. Sans loves his sister, but he’s always wanted a brother too. 

The castle soon came into view, the structure looming above them like they were approaching a dungeon to slay a dragon. Clouds constantly twisted and turned around the top. However, it didn’t look very evil other than that, it just looked plain worn down. The outside was falling down with age of being untouched, debris crumbling down. The land around was wilted, yet somehow had weeds and vines climbing up the side. 

Man, this wasn’t going to be very fun, was it?

~~~~~~

It felt like a sin, to watch someone get laughed at and not be able to support them. 

They had split up into groups with teachers, and the most… troubled students were the ones placed with the HeadMaster. Sans for obvious reasons, and Undyne due to her being raised in solitude, not understanding the basic ways everyone else had been raised. Grillby was also in their small group, and Sans quickly learned why.

“You shouldn’t talk about him that way!” Grillby had said.

The HeadMaster wasn’t aiming his jabs of the Evil King’s child to Grillby, no, it was to Sans. To try and convince him the type of man he should become. Talking about the interior, about the types of things the child would do once they took over the castle. The room they were inside of was dark, old furniture torn and scattered about. Everything was covered in dust. Thankfully, from age, not monster dust.

Everyone had looked at him, and Grillby didn’t back down under the stares. Not like Sans and Alphys.

“Just because he’s the son of the Evil King doesn’t mean he’s evil!” Grillby had said.

That’s why everyone was laughing at him. Because, of course the son of the Evil King would be evil. That’s what everyone believed. It would be stupid to claim otherwise. The cracked mirror in the corner of the room showed everyone laughing, Sans glancing at it to watch them from behind. 

Though, Undyne wasn’t laughing.

She had simply raised an eyebrow, looking at Grillby. Likely more caught off guard than anything.

Grillby only drew back in embarrassment when everyone had started laughing, flames stuttering on his head. It was a bold statement to say in public, especially to a bunch of schoolmates on his first week of school. 

“Grillby,” The HeadMaster had said, walking forward towards him. “Don’t make such claims.”

“I know it was him, I saw him!” Grillby said, standing his ground. 

“I heard about your accident,” HeadMaster said, “And while I am glad someone was there to save you, the idea that it was a skeleton is silly. The child of the Evil King, male or female, would never do a kind deed. Get that notion out of your head, as it is based on lies. They are a child of evil, and will only do evil.”

Sans felt that personal attack right there, but he ignored it.

“Just because his Dad was evil doesn’t mean-”

“Just because his or her Father was Evil means they will be evil, to fulfill their destiny and keep order in the world. You did not see a skeleton that day, I suggest you drop the memory and move on. You have your own destiny to worry about.”

It was horrible, watching Grillby get treated that way. Sans knew that feeling, the twisting gut feeling when one would look around a room, finding no allies, no one to support him. He knew what it was like to get chased out of a room by laughter and screams. Incidentally, he also knew what a rock being thrown and hitting a skull felt like. 

And Sans couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t stand up without looking suspicious. All he could do to help was simply not participate, watching a poor teenager get laughed at just for wanting to protect his savior.

But for once, Sans agreed with the HeadMaster. Grillby needed to forget about it. It wasn’t doing either of them any favors with him obsessing over it.

Fortunately, though, exploration continued, with Undyne and Sans drifting to the back. She was oddly quiet now, chewing on her thumb slightly.

“You alright there, ‘dyne?” Sans asked her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Undyne said, “Thanks for checking in, though. My Dad usually just told me to go attack things in the woods if I was feeling emotional.”

The rest of the group continued onwards, but the two held in the back, keeping a good distance at this point. The walls felt too large, the ceiling practically towering over Sans. 

“You can always talk to me about stuff, I don’t mind,” Sans said, “I’m not the best at helping, but Cheshire cats are good at listening.”

“That’s really cool of you,” Undyne said, “I just… I get him. I mean, I don’t think Grillby was actually saved by a skeleton, but I get his situation. I’ve always just been alone, and I hate that sh*t. Poor punk, really. Feel bad for him.”

Sans glanced over at Undyne as they continued to walk slowly, now entering a hall filled with rows and rows of old knight armor stands.

So that explains why Undyne was quiet, she knew where Grillby was coming from. He was alone in a new school, where everyone laughed at him simply for trying to track down his savior. He had no friends, was in a foreign environment, it had to suck. Undyne knew how it felt, but she had friends. Grillby didn’t. 

“I figured you went quiet there,” Sans said, “But hey, don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be-”

The sound of fabric tearing made Sans stop dead in his tracks, his soul dropping in his chest when he realized what happened. He had walked too close to an armor stand due to being distracted, and had walked right against a sword, effectively tearing a large hole right through his baggy hoodie, easily cutting the entire side open to reveal a large gaping hole and none other than his spine. 

Sans reacted immediately, stumbling backwards as he tried to pinch the side of his hoodie closed to no affect. The gap was too large, he practically had to bunch it up inside of both hands to keep it from showing his bones.

“Sans, wait-”

The feline didn’t bother to listen to the rest before he pulled open the nearest room door and threw himself in, closing it with a thud behind him. No one had seen it, thankfully, but Sans wasn’t wearing a shirt underneath. The hole was too big, it caused the right side to sag down, showing off his spine. 

“Wait, Sans are you alright? Did you get hurt?” 

Of course Undyne would naturally check his safety first, she was that type of person. Considerate and protective. 

“No, it’s just-”

“Your hoodie was ripped, then. You really don’t like showing people what you look like, do you?”

Sans looked at the door, taking a moment to calm down. Undyne let him, waiting outside. She was being cool about this, understanding that Sans doesn’t like his identity being shown. Sans always told everyone else it was self esteem issues with his look, which was kind of true. Undyne respected that, which was really cool of her. She respected people. Sure, she was loud, and sometimes stormed into things, but she respected Sans’ decision to cover his face, even though she said she didn’t care. And she respected Alphys’ avoidance of dense crowds because she knew it made her uncomfortable. 

The skeleton almost screamed when he heard the door be pulled open, twisting his hoodie around so the cut wasn’t visible. But instead of Undyne opening up the door all the way, she only creaked it open, her arm snaking in through the small space with the rest of her body still hidden behind the door. Her own jacket she had been wearing moments before was held in her hand, fingernails dangling it out for Sans.

“Here, you can wear this. It’s not too cold,” Undyne said, “So you feel more comfortable. It’d be cool to see your face one day, man, but on your own time.”

Sans gently grabbed the hoodie, watching Undyne’s arm retreat back into the hallway before she closed the door. He looked down at the fabric, running his thumbs over it.

That settled it, Undyne was freaking awesome.


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the trip was better. Sans really liked hanging out with Undyne, she was really amazing, honestly. She was protective over people she cared about, and that was evident with Sans. They were good friends, and she helped out friends.

Maybe that was why they all were friends, they all were in the same boat. None of them really had the chance to make friends before. Undyne was home schooled. Papyrus’ personality scared people away. Alphys had too many people sucking up to her, and Sans… well, Sans was Sans. 

The trip in the castle was called over once Undyne and Sans had regrouped with Papyrus and Alphys, to which Undyne had the great idea of challenging Papyrus to a sword fight the first moment she saw him. They were shooed back onto their buses after the HeadMaster caught them, sent down to the hotel to get ready for the night.

Well, except for Sans, who had been held back to get an apology from the HeadMaster. The first time, really, the man never did apologize often. Especially to Sans, usually it was the other way around. The apology was over Undyne and Papyrus messing up the castle, as if Sans really cared. He never planned to use the thing, he didn’t want anything to do with it. They could tear down the walls and Sans wouldn’t bat an eye socket.

“Man, that elevator ride really lifted Napstablook's spirit, huh?” Sans asked Papyrus, setting his bag of clothes onto the small couch in their room. 

“NO SANS!” Papyrus said, lightly hitting the top of his head with his mirror. 

Their hotel room was simple, nothing much. A single bedroom connected to the living room and kitchen, the bathroom to the right side. Which wasn’t good. If Sans slept on either the couch or the bed, his hood could come off, and Sans knew Papyrus liked to wake up early. 

For once, the skeleton decided not to dwell on that, sitting down on the small couch. He packed a bunch of extra blankets, he could just cover his body and sleep like that. 

“I CAN’T WAIT TO GO EXPLORE TOWN TOMORROW!” Papyrus said, turning his mirror for Sans to see. “DID YOU KNOW THIS IS WHERE THE EVIL KING ORIGINALLY POISONED SNOW WHITE?”

Yeah, Sans knew. The small cabin was tucked away in the forest, this town was the closest to both it and the castle. Both were to remain untouched, for when the next generation of destinies began. 

“Oh, that’s cool,” Sans said.

Papyrus sat down next to the feline boy, eagerly swiping through the options for them to explore tomorrow. A message dinged from Undyne, sending them a picture of her and Alphys in their own hotel room, the two making faces at the camera. 

“THIS IS SO EXCITING! I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL I’M OLDER AND TRAVELING!” Papyrus said, scrolling down further. “I LOVE SIGHT SEEING!”

“Traveling around like your Dad does?” Sans asked.

“YEAH! NYEH HEH HEH! I LOVE MY DAD, HE’S THE BEST!” Papyrus said, “HE SENDS ME POSTCARDS AND AMAZING THINGS IN THE MAIL, AND EVERYTIME HE COMES HOME IT’S THE BEST!”

“It does sound pretty awesome,” Sans said, pointing at him. “Like, you get to travel all day and help people in need.”

“IT IS! I LOVE TO HELP PEOPLE! ALTHOUGH…” Papyrus said.

He looked down at the mirror and sighed. Sans watched the white haired male switch off the device and set it to the side. 

“I’VE ALWAYS HAD DOUBTS, I GUESS.”

“The Great Papyrus having doubts?” Sans asked, poking his cheek. 

“I KNOW, I KNOW! I AM GREAT INDEED, AND MY DESTINY IS PERFECT FOR ME! AFTER ALL, SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME WOULD BE NEEDED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT PROTECT THEMSELVES!” Papyrus boasted, placing a hand against his chest. “IT SHOULD BE PERFECT FOR ME. AND IT IS! I LOVE HELPING PEOPLE, AND TRAVELING SOUNDS GREAT! I JUST… IT WON’T BE ME. THAT'S MY PROBLEM, I GUESS.”

“Whatcha mean, it won’t be you?” Sans asked, tilting his skull to the side as his tail picked up behind him. 

Papyrus turned fully towards him. “I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME, AND IT FEELS LIKE MY STORY ISN’T ME. IT’S MY DAD. I DO WANT TO HELP PEOPLE, AND I DO WANT TO TRAVEL. THAT ALL SOUNDS GREAT! I WANT TO DO THAT, BUT I WANT TO DO IT MY WAY.”

The mirror was pushed aside, forgotten by the two as it continued to gather their reflection, propped up against the pillow. It acted as if it was a third party, witnessing their conversation when no other could.

Was Sans hearing Papyrus right? Was Papyrus doubting his destiny?

Why would he? It was perfect, he had a happy ending. The entire way was an easy ride, really. He would take from the rich and give to the poor, he would help people in need. He didn’t have to face any big challenges, he practically had a guaranteed life of happiness. No struggle, no problems. 

“I-I… I DON’T LIKE MY DESTINY!”

The human practically blurted it out, his face scrunching up as he drew back, as if he was almost fearful of his words. Sans also drew back, stunned from the words that just left Papyrus’ mouth.

“WELL, I MEAN, I DO! I JUST… I KNOW IT’S AMAZING, AND IT DOES SOUND AMAZING. BUT IT… I DON’T LIKE IT, STILL!” Papyrus breathed out.

“I… I… wow,” Sans said.

“AND I KNOW THAT’S WRONG, AND THAT I HAVE TO SIGN THE STORY BOOK OF LEGENDS TO FOLLOW MY DESTINY,” Papyrus said, “BUT I JUST DON’T LIKE THE IDEA OF SIGNING IT. I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE, YES, BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE HELPING THEM WITH CORRUPTED INTENTIONS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.”

It took Sans a moment, but once he caught on, he replied. 

“You don’t want to help people because your destiny tells you to, because you wouldn’t be helping people for their safety, but for your destiny,” Sans concluded.

“IT’S NOT JUST THAT. I’VE WATCHED MY DAD ALL THESE YEARS, AND WHILE HE’S GREAT, AND I LOVE HIM, I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE LIKE HIM. I JUST DON’T, YOU KNOW, WANT TO BE HIM EXACTLY. I WANT TO BE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR MY OWN GOOD DEEDS, FOR MYSELF. IT FEELS LIKE IF I HELP PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE MY DAD DID THE SAME, I’M NOT BEING PAPYRUS. I’M JUST BEING THE NEXT ROBIN HOOD. AND I DON’T WANT TO BE THE NEXT ROBIN HOOD, I WANT TO BE PAPYRUS HOOD.”

That’s what made them different, Sans and Papyrus. Papyrus was proud of his name, and he wanted to share it with the world. Sans hated his name, and often ran from his heritage. Not Papyrus. He didn’t want to be known for his kindness because of his destiny, he wanted to be kind because that’s what good people do. Papyrus didn’t want to be forced into a box, he didn’t like that. 

“I KNOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW OUR DESTINIES, AND I DO WANT TO. BUT I WANT TO MAKE IT MY STORY, MY WAY. I WANT TO SAVE PEOPLE MY WAY, TO HELP PEOPLE MY WAY,” Papyrus said, tapping his chest to further his argument. “IF I SIGN THE BOOK, AND DO EVERYTHING MY DAD DID… I’M JUST ROBIN HOOD, NOT PAPYRUS. I’LL HAVE CHILDREN, I’LL MOVE ON, AND THEN I’LL DIE, AND NO ONE WILL REMEMBER ME. I DON’T WANT THAT.”

So that was Papyrus’ greatest fear. Not the Evil King, not death.

Being forgotten.

Who could blame him? The thought was horrible. To watch the world continue on with your absence, nothing have changed. To have not made an impact, no one to even care you were gone. To watch as everyone moved on, not one person bothering to stop by your grave. You just existed, and were gone, nothing to you or your name. No friends or family to mourn, only strangers to walk across your dust.

“I LOVE MY DAD, AND MY DESTINY, I REALLY DO! I JUST WANT TO DO IT MY WAY, THE PAPYRUS WAY. IS IT WRONG FOR ME TO WANT TO BE… ME?” Papyrus asked, pulling at the front of his white shirt. “I DON’T WANT TO BE ROBIN HOOD, WHO HELPS PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE HIS DESTINY SAYS SO, NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR SAFETY, TO BE PLACED WITH THE OTHER ROBIN HOODS. I WANT TO BE THE GREAT PAPYRUS HOOD, THE PERSON YOU CALL WHEN YOU NEED HELP OR SUPPORT, WHEN THERE’S EVIL IN THE WORLD. IS THAT SO WRONG?”

“No, ’s not,” Sans said, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s really not.”

“IT FEELS WRONG. EVERYONE KEEPS TELLING ME THINGS, HOW I’M SUPPOSED TO FEEL, HOW I’M SUPPOSED TO ACT. THAT I’M SUPPOSED TO SIGN THE STORYBOOK, HOW I’M SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW MY DESTINY. BUT I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT SO MUCH, AND IT FEELS WRONG. I KNOW THAT’S WHY PEOPLE DON’T LIKE ME, BECAUSE I’M DIFFERENT.”

“They avoid you because they don't like unpredictable," Sans reassured him, "You're a really cool guy, you don't need to worry. Once people get to know you, they'll love you. Guarantee it."

"YOU THINK SO?"

"Heck yeah. We can even go into town tomorrow and talk to people, show everyone how awesome you are." Sans said, " And, just so you know… I'm not signing the book."

"ARE YOU SAYING YOUR…" Papyrus trailed off.

"I'm saying you have options," Sans said, looking at Papyrus' orange eyes. "And you should consider them before you make a decision."


	12. Chapter 12

The town was bustling around the small cafe, people running around excitedly. Sun sprinkled in through the large windows, decorating the tiled floor. Sans and Papyrus sat in the booth, waiting for the two females of their group to show up.

Papyrus being Papyrus, he practically already had the entire day planned out for the group. Sans had woken up at six in the morning to find the teenager already active, running around their small hotel room with breakfast already being prepared and their schedule set up.

It was really helpful that Sans had brought those extra blankets, creating a pile of them to sleep under so Papyrus wouldn’t see any of his bones if his clothes slipped, which they tended to do. And Papyrus didn’t object, understanding Sans didn’t want to show his face. So he let Sans sleep in his horde of pillows and blankets, only to emerge when he had woken up and fixed his hood.

Papyrus making breakfast for them was really nice, but it was… the flavor was indescribable. The noodles were somehow burnt at one end and raw at the other, and the sauce was too runny. Not to mention, why spaghetti for _breakfast_?

That’s why they were meeting at the Cafe, to get some real food. Papyrus had admitted to only knowing how to cook like Undyne, who would shove an animal on a stick and cook it over a fire. It worked for animals, but not for pasta.

Sans scarfed down his muffin, Undyne’s hoodie she had lent him thrown over his shoulder, ready to be returned when she arrived. His own blue favorite hoodie was now on, as he had a chance to change when he had gotten to the hotel. They agreed she would get it back when they would meet for breakfast. It was pretty cool of her to lend it to him, so Sans had decided to buy her a muffin as a thank you.

It wasn't long before the two were arriving, rushing up to their booth. Papyrus and Sans scooted over, handing the two the food they bought, along with Undyne's hoodie.

Walking in was a bit hard for Alphys, who was practically a celebrity. She gave an awkward wave as everyone as they started clapping, and soon was copying Sans' strategy of wearing Undyne's hoodie and pulling it up to cover her face. The hoodie looked just as big on her as it did Sans, really. They both were small in height, so the hoodie practically went down to their knees. The edge of her red and white dress barely peaked out of the bottom, the dark green hoodie way too big for Alphys, bagging past her arms to nothing but a puddle of fabric on the table. The lizard had to struggle to reach her hands out, wrapping them around her coffee cup.

“Oh, man, this is comfy,” Alphys said, “I see why you wear these all the time, Sans.”

“Heck yeah,” Sans said, “They’re epic.”

“You can keep it if you want,” Undyne said, slinging an arm across the back of Alphys’ seat. “You look really cute in it, like a little burrito! Aw, man, now I want a burrito. Dad used to bring those to me all the time. Do they serve burritos here?”

“No, it’s a Cafe,” Sans said.

But it was too late, as Undyne was already climbing out of her seat, rushing up to the counter to ask if they had burritos. Even though it was a Cafe, and they would certainly not have that food. Additionally, she had scarfed down the muffin Sans bought her, so she just ate. Meanwhile, Alphys gently pulled at the edges of her sleeves, smiling to herself.

“Yoooo!”

The yell was louder than the clapping had been, causing everyone at their table to look at the source of the sound. There stood one of the kids from their field trip, Monster kid. Son of Cinderella.

It was a good thing he was the son of Cinderella, due to his lack of hands. He was a bit short, and a bit younger than them, due to being a few grades below them.

“Undyne, that sword fight you had was so cool!” Monster Kid had said, bouncing up and down next to her. “Yooo, you’re awesome! I wanna be like you when I grow up!”

“Don’t you have a destiny of being a Prince?” Undyne asked.

“So? I’ll get my glass shoe, then be like you! I’ll be a super cool King with a sword!!”

Undyne didn’t seem to care about the fact that he was armless, instead giving the kid a high five, to his tail, with a large grin. “Hell yes, you can use your tail! Just train kid, and you’ll do great!”

When she had turned away to walk back to their table, the boy followed her with a goofy, happy grin.

“You uh, need something?” Undyne asked.

“Nope!”

“Okay.”

When Undyne turned to walk away, Monster Kid started to follow her again. The red haired girl sighed, whipping her body back towards him.

“You want to hang, kid?” Undyne asked.

“Yes!” Monster Kid squealed, the younger jumping up and down.

~~~~~~

Do you know that feeling where a child follows you around? Like a younger sibling, the one who insists to hang out with your friends?

That was the thing about Monster Kid. He sure felt like it, and he wasn’t even related to any of them. Yet he somehow deemed Undyne worth all of his time and obsession, following her around much like a lost duckling would.

Sans wasn’t sure how the others felt, but for him… he was a bit uncomfortable. Everyone else in the group he managed to get along with, they were his friends he trusted and liked. Not that he didn’t like Monster Kid, the kid was alright. But Sans didn’t think they’d be good friends, Sans was a rather introverted person. At least Papyrus was willing to do all the talking, and while being an extrovert, he understood introverted people like Sans and Alphys needed time to recover. Monster Kid did not understand this.

Undyne managed to get along with him during their exploration of the town, but it was clear the constant high pitched voice was not only annoying him, but Alphys as well. Even Undyne looked a little upset, having their friend group butted into.

Maybe it was just the way they did things, but it felt odd with someone like Monster Kid forcing his way in. The whole point of their group was that they were outcasts. People who couldn’t make friends, having banded together. They didn’t exactly mind another person joining them, but it wasn’t of their own free will. Monster Kid simply joined without knowing any of them, and without having any reason to be there but to follow Undyne. He didn’t even seem to like Alphys or Sans, likely because their destinies didn’t involve weapons. Well, to his knowledge, anyway.

Sans didn’t really have any problems with the boy as a person, but he had been really looking forward to spending this day with the very few people he could trust enough to talk to.

Alphys seemed to be understanding the constant anxiety Sans went through now that she was doing exactly what he was doing. Stumbling down the street, hood pulled up, begging to any god out there to not have any strong wind somehow push down her hood. With the constant talking of Monster Kid, continuing to insist on talking to Undyne like the rest of them were there. Sans understood the kid looked up to her like an idol, but he needed to take it a step back and let poor Undyne breath.

Being the amazing savior Undyne was, the female had motioned for Sans and Alphys to make an escape, letting the introverts of the group take a much needed break. She had hinted that she would call them later, Papyrus helping their escape when they needed it. Sans made sure to note down a pasta shop he saw on his way down the street, sending the location to Papyrus to check out later.

They both scrambled into the shop, neither wanting to be out inside of public too long before they shut the library closed. It seemed to be a crowded space by the looks of it, shelves full of book after book crammed into each tightly packed corner. From how full the library was, Alphys and Sans could barely see inside, instead a maze of sorts led them throughout the small building.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Sans said.

“Why is he so obsessed with Undyne? That’s so weird,” Alphys said, wrinkling up her snout in annoyance. “I like her too, but he doesn’t even know her.”

“Now Undyne knows how you feel,” Sans said, “Being adored by someone so obsessively.”

“Undyne understands my suffering,” Alphys said, “She is actually going to be dead later, it’s going to suck for her.”

“Heck yeah. But that was a seriously cool thing to do to let us introverts escape.”

“Freedom. And into a book store, our natural habitat.”

“Aaahhh, I love reading so much,” Sans said, stretching his hands out to the many books around them. “I feel like I should just live here now. Just abandon school and read every book here. My grades are already terrible, it’d be perfect.”

“Hey, we got a good grade on our project,” Alphys said, nudging his shoulder.

“Yeah, but that was because I had the great Alphys White as my partner, I don’t have you in any of my other classes,” Sans said, nudging her back. “I’m good with science stuff, but history I die in every single test. I like reading books, not stupid documents.”

“History is the worst,” Alphys agreed, “Yuck, I hate that class.”

“Yuck?” Sans snorted. “You don’t eat classes, Alph’. You obviously snort them.”

“Math class messes you up when you snort it,” Alphys joked back.

“Yeah,” Sans agreed, “But I have actually seen someone in Wonderland eat mushrooms and get high. It’s not too uncommon.”

“Wait, really?” Alphys asked, turning towards him fully.

“It’s one of the first things you learn in Wonderland class,” Sans explained, “You don’t eat anything from Wonderland that isn’t directly food. Mushrooms are the worst thing to eat, though, they almost all make you feel high. That’s where a lot of drugs are from, Wonderland messes you up.”

“And you’re from Wonderland, right?” Alphys asked.

“Kitty and I were born there.” He took a brief look at the awkward mirror hanging on the wall, catching sight of his angled reflection. “We moved here when the… well, you know, the incident happened to Wonderland. My Mom at least had the foresight to buy a house in this world in case, so we’re good now.”

“Did your Mom manage to make it out?”

“Nah, not a lot of people managed to escape. That’s why there’s barely any kids from Wonderland, the rest didn’t escape.”

“Sorry to hear about your Mom.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It sucks, and everyone’s been screwed over by the Evil King, but it’s fine... Why do our talks always take such depressing turns?”

“Why do they?” Alphys agreed, “We’re in a library, we should do book things. Like reading.”

“Or building a pillow fort and playing video games.”

“You know me too well. Wanna split up and find books to read?”

“Sure.”

The two weren’t really equipped to talk too much, as they were already socially exhausted from everything that happened. Monster Kid was extremely draining, and from that entire day, Sans couldn’t think of a single interaction he had with the kid that he actually liked.

His thoughts were broken when a book thudded to the ground next to him, noise shattering through his thoughts like glass. There, lying next to him, was a thick book, cover worn with age more than the Librarian's face. He tilted down, slightly, letting his fingers brush against the edges before they firmly grasped to better see the cover.

No title or words graced the thick leather, making Sans’ curiosity turn within his nonexistent gut. He eased it open, looking down at the pages yellowed with their time. It was a firm book, a little old, but nowhere near falling apart. Nor did it look like any printed book.

This was-

Sans flipped a few pages, eyelights trailing around as lost as he was. Why was this here? How did it even get here? This was a library, this wasn’t any place for something this personal!

He lifted his head, ears perking as he surveyed the small corridor of books and shelves he had been standing inside of. His gaze dragged across book after book, softly looking into the mirror at his own reflection until he continued. No one was here but himself.

How exactly did this get here?

“Yes, Mother, I understand. I’ll get you the-”

A voice rang behind Sans before stopping as the Library door opened, non other but Grillby Beanstalk standing there. His flames tickled the air in their height, healthier than ever before. He paused, no doubt unexpecting to find a Cheshire within the Library.

“I’ll… call you back,” Grillby said, swiping away on his mirror.

“Hello again,” Sans said.

His eyelights focused onto the bag at Grillby’s side. His old book. Grillby still was carrying it around.

“Did you come here to try and connect the book to someone?” Sans asked, “If you were saved near our school, the savior wouldn’t be connected to a library from another town.”

“No, I… I actually like to read,” Grillby said, “I know I’m still looking for him, but I understand my chances of finding him out here are slim to none.”

At least Grillby was aware of his situation.

“What book do you have there?” Grillby asked, looking at the story Sans was holding. “Do you, by chance, like to read?”

“I dabble. Alphys enjoys reading, and she’s my friend, so I read alongside her.” Sans’ lie was blatant, he loved reading so much he would likely continue until he dusted from the earth. “But this isn’t a normal story. It’s my Mom’s diary. Before the curse of Wonderland happened.”

Grillby gasped, taking a step back. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“You didn’t offend me, it’s no problem.”

The curse of Wonderland. Everyone knew about it, as no one could travel to Wonderland. Set by the Evil King himself, his final spell that was hidden in the dark, springing upon the unsuspecting innocent people out of nowhere. His revenge, some claimed.

“I’m just wondering how a diary from my Mom ended up… nevermind. It’s a Cheshire problem, and you have your own, no?”

Their first encounter had been admittedly awkward, but both had been so caught up in that day’s occurrence to really build a decent conversation. Grillby had been too eager to get information out of Sans to even account for his sudden appearance, having startled a squeak out of Sans previously. His face burned at the memory. That was embarrassing.

“There are some tables near the windows, let’s sit down,” Sans said, “I know most people aren’t done with their first answers.”

Cheshire cats were known for their knowledge. As they would watch from the shadows, they often gained a lot of insight. When you had a question about drama or rumors, you went to the Cheshires. Sans couldn’t count how many times Kitty had returned home from school, having been asked yet again by someone for information she would know. Yet, as Cheshires, it was in their blood to be tricksters. They liked pranks, and those pranks often amounted to answering with riddles or giving such confusing answers that people often came back to settle it out. People knew not to push Cheshires, though, as they were secretive. Even as he held his Mother’s diary, he knew barely half of her tales of life would be contained within it.

Grillby settled, the book gently placed next to him. He was treating the object better than the Prince of Cinderella treated the glass slippers.

“I’m sorry, for being an annoyance…” Grillby apologized.

“It’s no trouble.” Sans’ tail hung lazily in the air. “People aren’t ever satisfied with their first answers, they always come back for more. And people never ask myself anyways, so I have time for your questions.”

“Do people not like you?”

“I kept my distance.”

Grillby’s flames wavered, no doubt analyzing his social status. Even the strongest hurt when they had no friends to turn to, no one to lean again. Sans knew from experience. It hurt, being alone. It truly did.

“Ya really didn’t come into school with a grand start,” Sans said, “You burst in looking for the person who saved you, then you followed it up by claims that aren’t exactly in your best interest. Have you met Shyren?”

“Daughter of the Little Mermaid?” Grillby asked.

“Yeah, her. She’s a bit shy, but her body is of two parts, and her head is round and looks white underwater. Have you considered she might be the person who saved you?”

“I know what I saw!” Grillby said, “No one believes me, but I know I saw a male skeleton.”

“You’re a fire elemental, and you fell into a river. I’m not saying you didn’t see them, but I am saying you should consider the possibility that you might have mistaken Shyren for a skeleton.”

“I…” Grillby fell silent.

“Hey, you don’t have’ta get down or anything,” Sans quickly said, “I know it sucks not being able to thank who saved you, but you should really consider what you’ve been doing. You’ve been obsessing over someone you don’t even know exists. Just try and make some friends, be a teenager. You don’t have to worry about your future, you have a good destiny.”

Sans himself wished he could follow those words. In a sense, he was. He was a prankster, who liked to giggle and who liked to spend time with friends. And say puns. Lots and lots of puns. If he could talk about his love for books to Grillby, he would.

“You talk like you don’t have a good destiny.”

Sans glanced over, leaning on his gloved hand. “Not really. My sister, Kitty, gets our Mom’s destiny. I got my Dad’s.”

“Like… a destiny of the Evil King. You go to Alphys’ Royalty class, don’t you?”

Sans almost froze. Instead, he tilted his head, pretending to be taken aback by Grillby’s words.

“Are you trying to insult me by calling me a child of the Evil King?” Sans asked.

“Oh, wait, no! Not at all!” Grillby said, waving his hands. “Gosh, I’m so sorry. I’ve just been so obsessed with this lately that I’ve been losing myself. Sorry.”

“I just wear hoods because Cheshires like secrets, and there’s a lot more evil destinies with royalty out there than just the Evil King’s.”

“Sorry, I just… blurted it out, I guess. I’m just reaching for straws at this point, they probably don’t even go to our school. In public, at least.” Grillby leaned against his own hands, burying his face into them. “Don’t take that as an insult. I’m sorry, I jumped the gun without even thinking. I know you’re not the person who saved me.”

“Cats don’t like water,” Sans said, “And I don’t write in books.”

Grillby ran his hands down his face, glancing at the book. “I guess that’s also why I’m so obsessed with trying to find them… I’ve read all of their notes, heck, I even read the book again just because of their notes. It’s amazing. They pointed out ideas and character moments I never noticed, and their jokes are funny. I keep thinking about him, about who he is, about his ideals and beliefs.” Grillby gestured to the book. “If you’re a book lover, you should check it out. The notes are fantastic, and they even drew a really funny looking dog. I want to meet them to gain more insight about their thoughts on the book.”

Sans wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or not, but he was anyway. Thanking the lord his hood tucked away his blush, he continued the conversation. “So you’re a book nerd, huh?”

“Yeah. I’ve always liked reading reviews and analysis stuff about them, as well as just reading them. That’s also why I’ve wanted to find him so bad, I’d love to hear more of his thoughts about other books I enjoy. It’s hard to find people to read with.”

It was.

If Sans’ identity wasn’t on the line by revealing he wrote those books, he would have nerded out with Grillby the first chance he got. Instead, he kept his body composed, and his love towards literature shoved into the very bottom of his soul, as to not harm him. Maybe, in another life, he and Grillby could geek out. Discuss their shared love for books, over a cup of ketchup and some greasy food, Sans’ favorite kind. If only.

“I enjoy books, but not to that extent. Maybe you’ll find that person, and maybe he is a skeleton, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Especially where you’re throwing around accusations of someone hooded being a skeleton. I may have taken it lightly, as a Cheshire, but others don’t.”

“I understand. Again, I’m very sorry. I don’t believe being a skeleton should be an insult, though.”

“Tis the world we live in.”

Finally did Grillby shift in his seat, triggering the whoopie cushion Sans had snuck onto there using magic. Sans let out a snort, pressing his hands against his teeth as he started to giggle.

“Are you- you planted a whoopie cushion?” Grillby stood up, almost knocking over the table.

“Yes!” Sans couldn’t stop his laughing, dropping against the table as he tried to muffle his voice with his gloves. It wasn’t working very well.

“Quiet in the library!” The Librarian yelled from her desk, hidden away behind the numerous shelves of books.

That must have startled poor Alphys, who was still searching for a good read, as a crash sounded from the other side of the small building. Sans only laughed harder, almost falling out of his seat.

This was great.


	13. Chapter 13

Clouds lazily drifted above the warm afternoon, sunlight sprinkling out around the grass below. Papyrus gently pet a bunny on his lap, gingerly feeding it some of his salad. Next to him, Alphys sat, her own tail dragging through the luscious knots of green. Undyne remained gone.

“BUNNIES ARE SO ADORABLE!” Papyrus said, gently petting it again.

Only animals were immune to Papyrus' loud voice, it seemed. Likely being around animals his life had trained Papyrus to properly keep them around without startling them. Maybe that was how he managed to shimmy his way into becoming Sans’ friend?

“Undyne’s taking too long, I should text her,” Alphys said.

She gently pulled out her mirror, clicking on it a few times to try and message Undyne once more. It was an endless cycle of pain, once again repeating itself as Alphys paused, clawed fingers hovering in her hesitance.

“Undyne will be here soon, you know she has a nose like a bloodhound. She’ll find us, even if she never remembers where we meet.” Sans scratched behind his ear, clicking on his DS. “Oh, an eevee. Yes please.”

“OH, YOU SHOULD DO A NUZLOCKE, SANS!” Papyrus said, “IT’S MORE CHALLENGING AND EXCITING, MUCH LESS ADDS MORE STRATEGIZING!”

“Nah, I get too attached to my team,” Sans said, absentmindedly flicking his tail. “If one of them died, I’d probably cry.”

“I’m worried, she never takes this long,” Alphys said.

Almost as if summoned by the soft spoken words of her female friend, Undyne burst through the bushes into their small clearing. The bunny, startled, jumped off of Papyrus’ lap and scurried off into the shadows of the leaves. Papyrus turned to glare at Undyne, but paused when he saw who she had with him.

Undyne had one of her arms wrapped around an entire deer, a large spear sticking out of its abdomen. Not an unusual sight for their lunch, the forest was teeming with an overpopulation of animals due to Snow White’s rule, and Undyne often took some of the animals for her lunch. The unusual sight was instead found with Grillby, the boy’s upper arm firmly grasped by Undyne. She was practically dragging his entire body, and also had the weight of a deer to further test her strength, yet she walked without the slightest hitch in her step. Grillby himself looked caught off guard, blinking as he was greeted by three people he didn’t know very well.

“I just wanted to read in the library,” Grillby said.

“We’re your new friends now.”

Undyne twisted her arm and practically shoved Grillby onto a log. He sat, without much choice, his satchel thumping to the ground with his defeat. One of his buttons on his cheap shirt was undone, evidence of his rough journey here.

“The next time you kidnap our group a new friend, warn me,” Sans said, “Or at least warn Alphys. She was real worried ‘bout you.”

“I-I…” Alphys fell silent, eyeing the newcomer with a desire to scamper like the rabbit.

“HELLO, GRILLBY BEANSTALK! WE MEET AGAIN!” Papyrus said, “WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SPAGHETTI FOR LUNCH?”

“Oh, no thank you. I have my own food,” Grillby said, “Sorry, I was just reading in the library before Undyne suddenly grabbed me out of my chair and brought me here.”

Sans saved his game, looking up. “That’s fair. Undyne does those things.”

“I saw that he was lonely.” Undyne twisted her body, letting the carcass of the dear thump to the ground. “He really screwed himself out of friends, so I figured he was one of us.”

“One of us?” Grillby recited.

“An outcast, sorta,” Sans said. He placed a finger on his chin, and tilted it. “People who have a hard time making good friends. That’s what I like to think of it.”

“I’m the founder!” Alphys said proudly, before deflating. “That doesn’t sound very g-good in my favor.”

“WE ARE JUST PEERS WHO LIKE TO MEET BY OURSELVES!” Papyrus exclaimed.

“I’m surprised that Alphys White is here. No offense, but…” Grillby’s curiosity sparkled as he settled onto his chin. "I thought you'd have lots of friends."

"Not exactly.” Alphys slid her mirror away, instead grabbing her salad from her own bag. “Everyone at school just wants to be my friend for my last name. Everyone except for the people here. Sans actually ran when he heard my last name.”

“Hey, Cheshire’s are cats who like to lurk in the shadows. And being friends with Alphys White would definitely throw me into the spotlight. It sounded horrible.” Sans unwrapped his leftover takeout food. “Like I said, I like to keep my distance. It’s why I’m in our little group.”

“AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE BECAUSE HE DOES NOT WISH TO OVERWHELM OUR PEERS!” Papyrus explained.

“And you’re here because you’ve screwed up your entire year,” Undyne said, flicking rocks together until a fire started.

“I get where you were coming from, but… um, my Mom would have told me if the person who was going to poison me was in town,” Alphys said.

Sans flicked his gaze away. No, she wouldn’t.

“Well, welcome to the losers club. You’re officially a member because Undyne kidnapped you here,” Sans said.

Birds chirped ahead as Grillby tilted his head back, finally getting a good view of their surroundings. “This is a nice place, especially for lunch.”

“It is, especially when no one ever comes over here. It’s nice,” Alphys said.

“Here’s a lil tip for being in our friend group,” Sans whispered, leaning towards Grillby. “Don’t eat Papyrus’ spaghetti.”

“Here’s another word of advice to add to Sans’,” Undyne said, pointing to Grillby. “Don’t go around bringing false hope up! I seriously thought the kid of the Evil King was here so I could kick their butts for trying to hurt Alphys!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a stir. I’m curious, as Beanstalks are, and I have to thank whoever saved me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them, and I have to find them to tell them that.”

If only Grillby knew he just told the savior that. It really wasn’t a problem, and Sans felt that Grillby had very clearly made his case. To be fair, if that happened to Sans, he probably would feel awful himself, not being able to thank the party that spared his life.

“Are you sure it was a skeleton?” Alphys asked.

“I’m sure. I know my eyesight.” Grillby wrapped his hands around the book hidden inside of his satchel. “But I guess I did cause quite a commotion in school.”

“Eh, it’s no big deal. I know they aren’t here, I’m not letting my cute lizard friend get hurt by some dumb skeleton.”

Alphys twisted in her seat, gently cupping her cheeks as she stared at the ground, lost in her own world. Sans watched her before his game beeped, signaling he had finally caught the eevee. Grillby turned himself to watch.

“Oh, you’re playing Pokemon? I love that game,” Grillby said, “What’d you just catch?”

“Eevee. I need an ice type on my team.”

“Eevee and it’s evolutions are my favorite. I love cute things.”

Sans looked over. “You’re an eevee guy? Never expected that.”

“Okay, then, what is your favorite Pokemon?”

“Mimikyu, hands down. He’s just a little baby who’s misunderstood, and he has two good typings.”

“I love bulbasaur! He’s adorable and precious and I use him every time as my starter,” Alphys said.

“PIKACHU IS OBVIOUSLY THE BEST ONE! THERE’S A REASON HE’S THE MOST POPULAR,” Papyrus declared, “JUST LIKE ME! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“Gyarados is the strongest! He whips opponents down!” Undyne said, “From the very few times I’ve played it. My Dad didn’t let me play video games much.”

Their talk over video games continued, the more extroverted and passionate people debating amongst each other led on their conversation. Sans scratched his tail lightly, curling it onto his lap as he watched Grillby join Alphys about how cute the grass starter was.

You know what?

Grillby was going to fit right in.

"Oh, please, if you like cute things just look at Alphys or Sans! They're small and cute with their tails!" Undyne said, gesturing to the shortest of the group. "Just look at them, don't waste slots on your team by grabbing weak Pokemon!"

"I dunno if I should be flattered or offended," Sans said, looking up from his game.

"I'm flattered," Alphys whispered, leaning against her hand as she watched Undyne in a weird daze.

"You guys just think I'm cute because I can purr," Sans grumbled, taking a bite from his lunch.

"You can purr?"

Only then did Sans realize his mistake, looking over at Grillby. "Just a bit."

"Not a bit," Alphys giggled, "Grillby, you should try petting Sans. He becomes a purring mess."

"Shut up A-"

Sans was cut off by a hand gently cupping his ear, causing a low rumble purr to escape from his ribcage. He fell against Grillby instantly, defeated as his tail flickered. Darn it.

It wasn't that Sans didn't like being pet, quite the opposite. The problem lay in the embarrassment of telling a lot of people. When done by friends, it was just a nice gesture, like scratching a back or fixing hair, but it could be awkward if done by non-friends.

"Oh," Grillby said.

Sans ended up leaning against Grillby, a purring mess as he basically flopped against him. The conversation the others had continued about Pokemon, but Sans was lost to it, letting himself enjoy the petting he hadn't gotten in a bit. Maybe it was a good idea to get Grillby to pet him, because the nature of his warm, fire hands worked wonders while petting. They were a nice toasty temperature that added a little flare to the petting, which Sans enjoyed. It reminded him of curling on a couch, next to a fireplace, reading a nice book or playing one of his favorite games.

And just like that, Sans' mind faded to black with that scene forefront in his thoughts.

~~~~~~

Grillby continued to absentmindedly pet the soft blue fur, watching the clouds swirl above their hideout. Alphys continued to talk eagerly about her newest book to Undyne, moving her arms and gushing about her OTP. Undyne listened, looking rather confused, but let her friend continue to rant as she tore into her deer. When she got too lost, she asked questions, keeping herself involved and interested. Papyrus had found the rabbit that left, lightly feeding it some of his lunch.

Sans had tucked his small frame against Grillby, tiny body laying upon Grillby's chest. He had ended up curling onto his lap, tail lazily thumping behind him as Grillby continued to run his fingers through the blue furred ears. They were so soft and fluffy, it was amazing. Grillby could pet him all day.

That's how they stayed, for the rest of lunch. Sans on Grillby's lap, the fire elemental petting his newest friend.

For the first time in town, Grillby felt…

Like he belonged.


	14. Chapter 14

Sans had long since accepted he would never find friends.

It had been a childhood fantasy. Long ago, he had found a friend. He thought they were close, the two spent time together. However, they left, and he was alone against the world of Wonderland. That was when he picked up the hood, his Mother having knelt down, whispering to Sans soft words he would never forget.

_“Secrets are a Cheshire’s strength,” She spoke long ago, pulling the hood over the skull. “We keep them close to our chest, to our family, to keep each other safe.”_

His Mother’s diary shared quite the same ideals as he and Kitty inspected the pages, reminiscing over their Mother’s memories. The words were quite scarce, uninformative, and much like their dear Mother. The entries cut off right around the time Sans was born, no doubt concealing his identity if someone got their hands onto her diary. It had more riddles and jokes than actual content of her life, really. One entry stood out along the two siblings, however.

An entry talking about the Evil King.

‘ _A silky skull he has, doesn’t he? I’ve heard quite a tale about him, and have seen a few problems he’s caused. The Evil King, I say, is a daring and manipulative man. He’s dangerous._

 _Which makes me only want to approach him even more. Danger, in stories, is what draws people in, and I am a woman of stories._ ’

Thank the lord it didn’t talk about their… experiences together, at all. Those were the only two paragraphs that even mentioned him and her involvement with the tyrant, and Sans was rather pleased about that. It explained why his Mom would ever have interest in a guy like him.

But, despite getting ahead of himself, Sans found that he could enjoy the pleasures of life. Not entirely, as he had certain setbacks, but having sleepovers was something he never imagined as a possibility.

Yet, here he was. A pillow hugged between his arms, tail decorated head to toe in various ribbons, and the intense game of truth and dare, a classic, humming between the various monsters and human. Which Sans just realized Papyrus was the only human there, then again, the monster population did outnumber the humans. It made sense.

They were all situated within a circle in Alphys’ room, the lights having dimmed (which Alphys could adjust her lights with a freaking slider, just to show how rich she was) for their sleepover. A clock brightly displayed the time, ‘11:46’, servants footsteps sometimes coming and going as they pleased. They even brought snacks for the group, which was pretty nice. Everyone had their pajamas on, eager to spend a day with their only friends, which was fine. They all didn’t mind being each others friends.

Grillby was fitting in nice, which made Sans feel better about accidentally making Grillby have an obsession with his savior. A big oopsie on Sans’ part, as he eloquently described it, but Grillby really was the final link on their friend group. Surprisingly, he got along with everyone. Undyne and him, while starting off rocky, quickly got onto good terms when Grillby showed his tree climbing skills. Being the son of Jack BeanStalk meant he was naturally good at traversing heights, and his ability to maneuver around made him and Undyne become rather good friends. Papyrus and him bonded over food, as Grillby’s family had bought the bar in the middle of town and were now running it, which meant Grillby was good at making meals. Then, his shared love of literature made him be able to talk to Alphys more easily, not to mention Sans, but Sans made sure to hold back all of his love for books and try not to be too involved or insightful. “ _I dabble in reading, like I said, but I’m not hardcore in the literature department,_ ” Sans had told him before, “ _I just pick up the books Alphys reads to bond with her._ ”

But things were good now. He had good friends, was at a fun sleepover, had a social life! He was happy, truly happy, and Sans liked that. Sure, he didn’t have a boyfriend, nor was he able to confidently pull down his hood, but things couldn’t be perfect. He’s long accepted that as a fact in his life.

“Truth!” Alphys had said.

“OH, I HAVE A GREAT QUESTION!” Papyrus said, “WELL, I HAD ONE. I FORGOT.”

“Dude, I could ask for you,” Sans said, “On a scale of ten to ten, exactly how gay are you?”

“SANS! DON’T STEAL MY QUESTIONING TIME!” Papyrus said, throwing a pillow at the feline monster.

“As gay as you,” Alphys joked back, sticking out her tongue at him.

“I’m pretty sure everyone in here is at least somewhat hella gay,” Undyne said.

“WAIT, WE DON’T KNOW GRILLBY’S PREFERENCES, DON’T LABEL HIM!” Papyrus said, “AND GRILLBY, FEEL NO OBLIGATION TO TELL US YOUR SEXUALITY.”

“Being gay by definition makes us more interesting,” Sans said, tilting back, “We double our wardrobes, can choose to have kids whenever we want, and we get an epic colorful flag. But Grillbs, if you’re straight, that’s okay. We accept you for who you are.”

“But you will be subjected to gay jokes,” Alphys said.

“Oh, constantly,” Sans agreed.

“Gay people accepting a straight, who know?” Undyne joked.

“How the turntables,” Alphys quoted from her favorite show, hugging a pillow on her lap.

"I'm… well, I'm gay, so..." Grillby admitted.

"Yes, one of us!" Alphys said, sticking up her arms.

"NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH BEING STRAIGHT AT ALL!" Papyrus said.

"But gay jokes!" Sans said, "It makes being gay so much better!"

"Do you guys want any more snacks?" Alphys asked, "We have the best pizza rolls."

"Is your Mom ever home?" Undyne asked, "I mean, yes, I'd love pizza rolls, but where’s your Mom? My Dad never leaves the house. He smokes a cigar out front and just shakes his fist at animals… he doesn't have many friends."

“Busy,” Alphys mumbled, leaning against her hand. “She tends to be busy a lot, so she’s never home.”

“That blows,” Sans said, “But I guess we can’t blame her. She is the Queen.”

Alphys wrapped her tail around a pillow, scooting it over onto her lap with the other. “I know, that’s why I try not to make a big deal out of it. I know she’s busy, and she does try to spend time with me and check in. Those times are just… brief.”

“At least she’s making an effort,” Grillby said, “Right?”

“Yeah, I’d say,” Sans said.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s trying, what matters is that she’s not here,” Undyne said, “Who cares about ruling a Kingdom, she can hire people for that.”

“It’s fine,” Alphys said, holding out a hand. “I have you guys to talk to, don’t I?”

“Heck yeah,” Sans said, “That’s what the loser club is for.”

“CAN’T WE COME UP WITH ANY OTHER NAMES?” Papyrus asked.

“Nope,” Everyone said.

~~~~~~

In the late night she lay, eyes lidded, buried beneath the fringe of red. Sprawled, she reached out sharp hands, the fingers halting in hesitance. Instead, she turned away from the female laying next to her on the large, encompassing bed, biting her lip.

She had no right.

But she’d be d*mned if she didn’t try.

~~~~~~

Kitty, under the moonlight, walked. Her lavender hair bounded with each impending step, tail swishing. Trees swarmed her, both large and tall, standing in the view of her soft purple eyes. Not stopping her journey, not creating barricades, simply watching. Kitty didn’t trust the forest, nor did she trust those who could lurk in the shadows. Instead, she only trusted an enclosed space, with only her reflection of a mirror to judge her.

A book, her Mother’s diary, hung between her hands. Grasped, hugged closely. So close that it dug into her collarbone. Kept safe.

As much as she and her brother loved their Mother, having this diary being handed around was too dangerous. Not that it contained Sans’ situation, naturally, but it held more than they’d like to share. Their Mother was never one to overshare, yet her simple diary held more than the siblings were comfortable telling about. It should remain within their family, and how it appeared within their lives was rather questionable. The Cheshire Cat was a firm and powerful woman, organized with her items. She wouldn’t just lose a diary, something happened.

And Cheshire’s didn’t play anyone else’s games but their own.

The book just so happened to fall in front of Sans in a library when no one else was around, and it was just a coincidence that the book was their Mothers diary? They weren’t born yesterday, they knew someone planted it. Neither of them knew who, but that didn’t matter.

Whoever planted it there managed to steal from a Cheshire, a feat within itself, then planted it for Sans to find. This person, whoever or whatever they were, wanted them to find it. As if they were going to play along. The question was where exactly to hide the diary? Somewhere she could access it in case of emergency, but wasn’t in danger of being easily read.

Kitty emerged through the bushes into a small opening, pausing at the sight before her. Low and behold, before her sat a well, vines creeping up the side, wrapping around the edge and delving into the darkness below. Moonlight, scattered through the gaps between the leaves above, decorated the pale grey concrete.

A well could do.

Frankly, Kitty had been looking for a river, but a well was a better location in case it got carried off. While a river would be a better hiding spot for blending in, it would be rather difficult to climb down a well. No one would do it unless they already knew the diary was there.

Kitty carefully leaned over the edge of the well, dropping it inside. After a few moments of listening, she heard nothing. It was deeper than she thought.

In the end, really, if it was too deep to retrieve, Kitty and Sans had already agreed that the diary no longer needed to exist. They already read each and every word, so the book could be destroyed if needed. For now, hiding it was the best option.

Time to go home.

Kitty turned on her heels and started to walk, twisting her tail behind her. A sparkle of light, however, caught her attention, the feline turning around to find an empty opening. The well was gone.

Standing there, in the darkness, she stared at the location where the well just was. Instead, there was only grass, as if it never existed there.

“... I’m going to bed,” Kitty muttered, turning back and teleporting away.


	15. Chapter 15

Sans never was one for birthdays. Naturally Cheshire's hid birthdays, so no one outside of their family ever celebrated. Sans liked it that way. If his friends somehow managed to find out his birthday and celebrated it, he probably would have dusted away on the spot from embarrassment. Both he and Kitty didn't like being the center of attention, and having an entire day celebrated about them, even with a few friends, was a bit much. They were observers.

But what would happen if the daughter of Snow White, the most popular person in the world, had a birthday?

Chaos. Utter chaos.

It was practically a holiday. People were talking about it for weeks. The school decorated and celebrated it. There was an entire club dedicated just for Alphys' birthday. Frankly, if that wasn't going overboard, each school lunch was served with a piece of custom made birthday cake. There was even an assembly where Alphys was just cheered on for far too long.

And every second of the day Sans could see she was utterly miserable. Her smile looked so forced it almost hurt just watching. He caught a glimpse of her crying in the bathroom with Shyren comforting her. Shyren was a pretty cool monster; she was rather shy, so she was one of the few Royals that understood Alphys. They didn't talk much, though, and Shyren wasn't looking to become friends with her.

There wasn't much any of them could do to help. They tried to sneak her away at every moment, but it was school policy to celebrate it. Seriously? It was in the rules to celebrate a girls birthday who didn't even want to celebrate it herself?

The day wasn't fun for any of them. Grillby seemed always out of his element (pun fully intentional), trying to slip out a book at any possible moment. Papyrus tried to help make Alphys happy like the good Samaritan he was, but it didn't go well with her constant bad mood. Undyne was oddly absent, which... now that he thought about it, that sounded like a good idea. For her next birthday, he was suddenly going to be ill. Very ill.

' _SOS, NEED HELP - Undyne_ '

Sans looked down at his mirror, the sudden message startling him from the class. It was just after lunchtime, in Defense and Attack class. It sounded fun and adventurous in theory, but for Sans, he didn't like fighting. He just teleported around until he got a decent grade in their spars, then waved his white flag. No one really lifted an eye, he was a Cheshire. Cheshires didn't fight.

Papyrus continued to talk to Mettaton in front of him, the robot mostly just replying with snippets about himself as two other monsters fought in the background. Sans, making sure the Professor wasn't looking, slowly grabbed the mirror out of his bag and typed away to reply.

' _What do you mean? - Sans_ '

' _HELP - Undyne_ '

' _NOW - Undyne_ '

' _PLEASE - Undyne_ '

' _I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME UNTIL SHE COMES OVER - Undyne_ '

' _What? - Sans_ '

' _COME OVER - Undyne_ '

' _NOW - Undyne_ '

Did she mean to her house?

Almost instantly after that thought crossed his mind Undyne sent her address and how to get to her house from the school, texting him in more frantic texts to come over.

' _I'm still in class - Sans_ '

' _Aren't you in fighting class? You skip half of the time anyway - Undyne_ '

That was actually pretty fair. Sans tended to skip after his fights were over. A baseline of a C was a good grade for him, once he got his average score for that day he just teleported into a tree and didn't participate any further.

' _On my way - Sans_ '

' _Have ketchup prepared - Sans_ '

~~~~~~

Her house was run down, barely held together by some sort of luck. One side was tilting, and Sans could even see two logs pressed together by duck tape of all things. It was a little hard to find, admittedly, as her house was tucked away into the heart of the woods. It took a bit to teleport to, and that was with the address.

Wait, Undyne couldn't teleport. She had no magic, no drivers license, nothing. How did she get to school on time every morning?

Sans barely knocked on the crooked, old front door before it was slammed in, the force enough to cause the entire house to shudder. There stood Undyne, a frantic look in her bright yellow eyes, and her hair messier than her front lawn.

"Um, the bottom of your hair looks burnt..." Sans said quietly, pointing to it.

"Yes, I burnt it a few times!" Undyne said, pulling out a bag of ketchup and practically slamming it into his arms. "Here's your stuff! Get in here!"

Before he could make a sound other than a squeak, she suddenly dragged him into the small, cramped space, not bothering to even shut the front door before she was stomping off towards the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you close that, 'dyne?" Sans asked, gesturing to the front door. "Animals might come in. Other than me."

"There's already probably more animals and flies in here than out there. Let's go!"

Underneath his arms she planted her hands, firmly lifting up his body and hoisting him over her shoulder like a rag doll. Sans hung limp, knowing full well that Undyne wouldn't do anything to harm him. She just liked to carry people around.

The inside of her house was... well, what Sans expected it to be. He only met Gerson once before, when he had bumped into Undyne at a store, and he was what Undyne described him as. Loud, talkative, old, and a hunter. Each wall was mounted with so many animal heads there was more fur than paint. The thin, shaggy carpet was stained with several puddles of animal blood, some old, some new. An entire bear, which Sans could not stress enough how big the bear was, was just... sitting on a table, a large spear sticking through its head.

"Ah, Sans!" Gerson croaked from his chair, light bear fur decorating his rough beard. "Did you come 'ere to finally take a bite outta 'ol guss? We got 'en good feast tonight!"

Though his previous encounter with Gerson was quite defining, seeing him again was as surprising as before. Sans gave a curt wave. Gerson was interesting, he'd leave it at that.

"No, sorry," Sans said, "I've never tried bear, so you gotta... bear with me!" He shot out some finger guns towards the old turtle.

Gerson roared, tilting his head so far back Sans was worried for his health. Though, Sans didn't get much time before Undyne carried him towards the kitchen, practically sprinting despite the short distance. She skidded to a halt across the tiles, setting down Sans in front of the oven.

"I made a cake!" Undyne heaved.

"You sure did," Sans said.

There wasn't just one cake. Or two. There was at least ten, maybe twenty, littered around the small counters. Undyne's kitchen was barely big enough to fit four people, so there wasn't enough counter space for the several cakes she made, causing them to be stacked on top of one another. Most of the cakes were severely burnt, a few undercooked and running down the side of the counter onto the floor. Those that were frosted were obviously frosted when she must have just taken them out of the oven, so the frosting was now melting, creating a bigger mess.

"When did you frost these?" Sans asked.

"When they were in the oven," Undyne said.

"You... how?" Sans asked.

Undyne held up her hands, showing off several burn marks. "For some reason I panicked and thought if I frosted them before I pulled them out, that the frosting would... cook into them."

Sans looked at her, blinking a few times as he tried to understand her thought process. He couldn't.

"Shut up," Undyne muttered, looking to the side. "I know it was stupid, okay!"

"Why are you making so many cakes?" Sans asked, "Are you trying to make one for Alphys?"

Undyne, hesitant, still nodded. Okay, so she was celebrating Alphys' birthday. Why was she so desperate?

"I've seen you cook your deer and stuff for lunch, you're actually really good!" Sans said, "So why did these turn out so... like my life?"

"Don't say that, nerd, or I'll come over there and force my friendship onto you," Undyne said, "And I can cook meat just fine, but only meat. So things like cake and stuff with flour aren't my thing. This was the first time I've ever made cake."

"You do realize that she's probably eaten several pieces of cake today, right?" Sans asked, "And if you wanted to make a little surprise party for her, you should have asked Grillby and Paps to come over as well. Grillby works at his parents bar, he cooks a lot, he might'a been able to help with a cake."

"No, I can't- I-" Undyne fell silent.

Defeated, she turned, as if unable to admit it to herself. Instead of using her words, she instead demonstrated, pushing open the back door and gesturing for Sans to look.

A... setup?

Outside, past a small pile of animal furs, was a setup for a date. Nothing special, nothing grand. Two creaky, handcrafted wooden chairs pressed up to a wobbly table, with a candle that had long been extinguished from the wind.

Undyne liked Alphys.

"I was trying to make this a special date, but - oh, who am I kidding, this isn't going to work." She plopped down next to the open window, hands under her chin with her legs crossed. "Alphys is going to be here after school and I don't have anything."

"Hey, it's okay," Sans said.

"No it's not," Undyne grumbled. "This was a terrible idea. Alphys is a Princess, a cute one with this adorable snort and - okay, I'm getting ahead of myself, but she has every luxury to her. Her limo has an ice cream dispenser inside of it, and the entire school celebrated her birthday today! I thought I could beat them and make an awesome birthday cake to woo her and hopefully get Alphys to like me, but I'm out of my league. She's probably eaten some cakes made by gods."

"You mean professional chefs?" Sans asked.

"Same thing."

Sans cocked his head to the side. "Undyne, first off, if you don't know... Alphys is gay. She's into girls, so you do have a chance. Considering you're the only other girl she really talks to as a close friend, you might have a pretty good darn chance."

"She's really -" Undyne snapped her head up, "I thought she was joking, or -"

"And," Sans said, holding out his hands, "Yeah, Alphys has everything. She had several pieces of cake today, she has a mansion and a big bedroom, and I'm pretty sure I saw a pool inside of a pool at her house."

"Yeah, what's with that?" Undyne asked.

"I'm not sure. But lettme tell you - you can't cook cake. At all. You're terrible, and you don't have enough time to get any of these to work. Not to mention Alphys has had better cakes everyday." Sans helped Undyne up. "Just because you aren't good at some stuff doesn't downgrade your abilities in other areas. You might not be able to make Alphys a cake, but you can make her something else."

"The whole point of this date was to be a birthday celebration!" She objected.

"I think Alphys has had enough birthday celebrations for this year. 'Dyne, you should'a seen her today. She was miserable. I think if she has another birthday cake she's going to throw up. Not to mention how her Mom doesn't let her eat much meat. Make Alphys a birthday dinner instead."

"A birthday dinner?"

"Yeah, come on! Cook her up some of that bear, and just be yourself with her. Don't pretend to be anyone else."

"But she - she's rich! She has everything!" Undyne said, "And what if she doesn't like me?"

"You're trying to get her to go on a date with you, not anyone else," Sans said, "What do you want more? Alphys to date you, or Alphys to love _you_. If she doesn't like you that way, then you'll know. Don't try to be someone you're not. You don't like cooking sweets, you like to hunt and cook. Do that, don't bother with a cake. She's had enough."

"Yeah, yeah!" Undyne said, regaining her confidence as she stuck her fists into the air. "I got this!"

This time around, with her confidence, and a bit of Sans' magic to clean up the kitchen, the change was there. Undyne moved more firmly, dragging the entire (yes, the entire) bear into the kitchen. Once the bear was in there, it was rather crowded, but Undyne made work of it quickly. It was astounding to watch her move, Sans pitching in wherever he could to help this.

Hey, he was rooting for them. They'd be cute together.

"Before I go, here."

Once the bear was fully cooked, and Undyne had further prepared her set up, it was Sans' time to go. They were both his friends, but he didn't want to crash their date. He was here to help her get ready, not to help her through the event.

Sans had pulled open his bag and outheld a book. Since Alphys had been nice enough to give him a copy of a book, he had bought a new one for her he figured she'd like. It'd be better coming from Undyne.

"It's a small book, so she probably hasn't heard of it yet," Sans said, "I think Alphys would probably make out with you if you gave it to her."

"I don't think so, but thanks," Undyne said, "Not for just this, for everything. I owe you."

"It's what friends do," Sans said, giving her a thumbs up. "But if you just so happen to stumble across some more ketchup and bring it in tomorrow -"

"Done."

~~~~~~

The bear was a bit overcooked. Undyne had been nervous about it's time, no doubt. The water was taken from a creek, and while Gerson and Undyne could drink it perfectly fine, they didn't realize Alphys couldn't. So her cup of water, brown and stained, sloshed to the side, forgotten. Undyne gave her a book, but the edge had caught on fire from the flames of the candle. Then, halfway through the meal, Alphys had burst out crying.

Not from shame. From happiness.

This had been the happiest she's ever been.

"I-I love it so much," Alphys sniffed, holding the book close to her chest.

"The edge is still hot," Undyne said.

"I know, it hurts," Alphys said, breathing heavily.

Undyne leaned against her elbows, hesitant, but eager. "So you really... like me that way? Seriously?"

"Yes, yes I do," Alphys admitted, rubbing a few tears from her eyes. "But it'll be hard. I'm supposed to be in love with Mettaton."

"I know."

"We'll have to hide from everyone. I don't know what would happen if this got out."

"I know."

"We won't ever be able to come out to the public. I'm not even sure how long this can last."

"I know."

Their fingers, slow, intertwined. Neither pulled away.

"I'm fine with risking it," Undyne said, "As long as I'm with you."

Alphys breathed out, smiling softly. "Me too."

For the first time in her life, feeling more confident than ever, she leaned forward, planning on taking a kiss. However, as she had leaned too much on the unstable table, she ended up causing it to collapse, bringing Alphys down with it.

"Alphys!" Undyne said.

Alphys and the table plopped down into the mud below, splattering up the brown mush against her red and white dress. Alphys rolled over and snorted, giggling to herself at the irony. Her Mom would kill her if she saw this. Alphys, on a date with another girl, rolling around in the mud.

Frankly, this was the best day of her life.

"Oh my lord, are you okay?" Undyne asked, holding out a hand to help the lizard up.

Alphys reached up for her, but instead of getting up, yanked her arm down to bring Undyne into the mud. Snorting, Alphys rolled to face her, unable to stop her giggling as she fixed her glasses. Undyne quickly joined her, the two lesbians rolling around in the mud with one another, laughing their heads off.

"Kids," Gerson chuckled from the door, shuffling by with his coffee.

Oh, he recognized Alphys White. And he wouldn't tell a soul. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Alphys and Undyne are now a couple! Yay! Merry early Christmas I guess, decided to add an extra upload this week, hope ya don't mind.
> 
> Also, I made a thing on youtube. If you wanna head on over to check out more of my videos, that'd be epic, but enjoy the cursed video.
> 
> https://youtu.be/PeJivS5A2kE


	16. Chapter 16

The change was there. Sans could see it in Alphys, the way she held her head higher, how she walked with more confidence. Her stutter was still there with other people, but to a lesser extent. For once, she had control over her life.

She was taking a risk. A risk so large that it could send her entire destiny shattering down. If this came out, every mirrorcast show would be upon the topic in an instant. One peep, and Alphys' entire life would crash around her.

But that was the life she didn't want. Alphys didn't want the glory or the fame, she just wanted to be loved. And Undyne gave her that. The two romantics loved each other for who they really were. They boosted each other up, gave each other more purpose, so they had found the risk well worth it.

Their small friend group was rooting for them. Really, they were. Their group was composed of people who didn't blindly follow the words of the Storybook of Legends, naturally everyone wanted them to find happiness.

Grillby leaned against the trunk of the tree Sans was dangling from. A cigarette hung between his finger, smoke wafting upwards. "You sure you don't want one?"

Sans glanced over, his knees and hands tightening around the branch. He was hanging upside down, Grillby and him spending a Saturday morning together.

"I don't get affected," Sans said, "But I don't gotta license anyway, too much work."

Cigarettes worked differently on monsters. They were strictly prohibited at all times inside, within your house or any other building, due to second hand smoke. Certain monster species, if given a bypass, were allowed to smoke cigarettes at whatever age, as they couldn't become addictive or have any health hazards to them. Heck, even smoke elementals smoked cigarettes before battles for a magic boost. It was a bit of a nuisance to get a smoking license, as you had to show your species and Sans had an obvious reason not to. For humans, smoking was just banned, due to how badly it could have an effect. Much like the lava pools at the community center; that wouldn't go well for a human.

"What's the deal with smoking anyway?" Sans asked, "You're a fire guy, just burn a twig to get smoke."

"It's a more contained way to practice controlling my flames," Grillby explained, "It gives me something small to concentrate on with my fire, pretty helpful. I know a lot of monsters try out smoking just to see what it's like, but it's more of like... you know how they had fidget spinners for humans? It's like that, but for monsters who can smoke without getting addicted or having health problems."

"Oh, that makes sense," Sans said, "I know some humans used to be real addicted before Snow White came into power, but I never got why she kept the cigarettes around other than for smoke elementals."

Grillby's mirror pinged with a message, both males snapping their heads towards it. From the angle Sans was hanging at, he couldn't see the screen, but his friend was quick to fill in his curiosity.

"Welp, Papyrus isn't coming," Grillby said, "He apparently managed to convince Mettaton to spar today, so he's probably going to spend as much time with him as he could."

"We definitely aren't seeing Paps today then," Sans said.

"What about Alphys and Undyne?" Grillby asked.

"Movie date."

"Want to invite Kitty out?"

"She's busy stalking someone for some blackmail. They stole her lunch and she wants to get revenge."

"That's fair."

Grillby clicked his flames, letting them cackle softly in the warm air. Soft undertones of water carried past them, traveling through the river that Grillby had fallen into. The bridge was further away, so this wasn't the exact location, but it was a decent spot to meet up for plans with friends.

"Looks like it's just us two, then," Grillby said.

"You, me, and my amazing puns," Sans said, winking at him.

"Wow, I'm a third wheel to your date." He placed a hand on his chest. "Why did you even invite me out if you're just going to be with your puns?"

"Wanted to brag. Ever since you betrayed my Pokemon team for a victory, I've had to replace you."

"Oh, bestow my heart, you've chosen puns over Pokemon."

"Course, they're Sans-ational."

Both snorted at their jokes, turning back towards the sky. After a moment of silence, Sans pushed his body back and forth, rocking himself across the branch like a swing.

"But seriously, I'm bored," Sans groaned, "What'dya wanna do? We need to do something."

"Well, what could we do?" Grillby asked, "Spar?"

"Neither of us like to fight," Sans said.

"Hm... There's the glass shoe in town, the arcade, and... oh, the community lava pool?"

"Monster Kid hangs around the glass shoe, so no. The arcade is always crowded on weekends, we'd never get any turns, and I'm not immune to lava, much less taking off any article of clothing."

Grillby sighed. "I figured. I just wish I wasn't made out of stupid fire, I'd be able to hang out at more places."

"You can literally hang out in a volcano and be fine, what'ya mean?" Sans asked.

"Not that, but with my friends," Grillby said, letting his flames curl into the air around him. "I can't do a bunch of things with you guys."

"But at least your love life is a fiery passion," Sans said, "Right?"

"I can't kiss a majority of people."

"... Yikes, okay then," Sans said, "How about your savior? Skeleton like you claimed, right? Go find them and make out with their skull?"

Sans was teasing him, that was pretty evident. While he was his savior, Sans didn't want Grillby to make out with him. Romance never really was an option for Sans, that'd require him to get close enough to someone to reveal who he was, his insecurities and troubles. And when he couldn't take off his hood, well, getting close and intimate with someone wouldn't work. A simple tease about having a savior, though, would be fun, right?

Apparently Sans had went too far, as Grillby huffed out, flames rising from his emotions. "Just shut up about it, okay?"

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that," Sans said, "It was supposed to be a joke about how you have a savior out there, and in a lotta fairytales the savior tends to get with the sav... iee?"

"Saviee?" Grillby snorted.

"Oh you shut up now," Sans said, lightly hitting his shoulder. "But I'm not saying you didn't see it, or you did. I don't know of any skeletons here, they mighta been passing through town. I wasn't trying to tease you about that, sorry, I should of worded it better. You're fine to wish to meet them, I was just joking about how people hook up with others because they're saved by them. It's quite common. Don't worry, Grillb's, I'm not gonna make fun of you for that. But I _am_ going to make fun of you for having a lil' partner out there that might of kissed you to get the water out of your flames."

Grillby turned, his cheeks brightening with a blush. "No he didn't!"

"Ah, true love."

"Sans, it's not like that! I don't love someone I don't know."

"Darn, I wish you had an actual crush. I'd tease the everlasting god outta you."

"I'm sure you would. But um... we still have no plans for today."

When Sans realized this blatant fact, his ears flattened against his head. "Oh f*ck, we don't. I guess we can just head back to one of our places if you want to? Watch some mirror shows or something?"

"Actually, that's a good idea," Grillby said, "My parents both really want to meet you guys, and while it'd only be you, I'm sure they'd be happy still. Not to mention, probably to brag, but I cook some mean burgers."

"Oh, burgers that'll insult me. I'm in," Sans said, teleporting into a standing position. "Any warnings I should heed before I meet your parents?"

"Just that they'll coo and swoon over you because I don't have many friends," Grillby said.

"That'd be my Mom too if she was here," Sans said, "But you said burger, so I'm willing to take the risk."

"Such an honorable sacrifice," Grillby said, "You should become the next Robin Hood."

"Obviously," Sans said.

~~~~~~

Grillby's home life, out of their group, was surprisingly the most normal. He lived above the bar in town, sure, but his house was quiet. Small, cute, a perfect little setup for a married couple of their teenage boy. It had a warm, welcoming vibe to it. Nothing outstanding; no dead bears, no lavish life, no traveling parent and spaghetti thrown everywhere, just a nice little house. Not even a house, a home. With a cozy couch set in front of his T.V, a large bookcase filled to the brim with old, worn books, it was inviting.

"Like I said, I'm fine Grillby," Sans said.

"Don't care," Grillby said, leading them to their moderately sized kitchen. Once he reached the cabinets, he pulled out two glass cups, setting them onto the counter. "My parents always taught me to feed guests when they show up. If I don't, they'll somehow sense it and run up here to probably make you lunch. Also, you're always hungry."

Sans chuckled, sitting on the counter next to him. "Not wrong there. But I don't want to spend our hang out day just forcing you to cook for me."

"I like cooking, it's no bother at all," Grillby said, "And we can kiss on the couch while watching some movies."

Sans paused, looking at him with a confused expression. It took Grillby a moment to realize what he said, but his flames quickly intensified with a blush once he processed his own words. "You got romance inside of my head now, and I can't stop thinking about it!" Grillby said, slamming the cabinet accidentally from his embarrassment. "I don't like you that way, you're a good friend, but I'd like to know someone pretty well before dating them."

Even if Sans did like Grillby, dating anyone was off the table with his situation, so he would have to decline his offer either way.

"Oh, no, my emotions," Sans said, placing a hand against his chest. "I've been friendzoned, rip."

"I know, I've been leading you on this whole time," Grillby joked, "But uh... seriously though, I don't like you like that. So um -"

"Don't worry dude, I got it," Sans said, "Neither do I, it was a slip of words. Words that friendzoned me, where I wanted to be all along."

"My natural habitat," Grillby joked, the two clearing up the misunderstanding and moving back onto a normal conversation.

After some more conversation, his Father had come in from the bar, a tall, lean man with darker orange flames and worn clothes much like Grillby's.

"Grillby, you're back! With a guest!" He said, "A friend?"

"Yup," Sans said, "Sans the Cheshire cat. Nice to meet ya."

Before he even greeting Sans, he turned towards Grillby. "Are you feeding him?"

"Dad, I'm making a burger now!" Grillby said, gesturing to the stove.

"Only a burger?"

"I got him some lemonade and I brought out some chips."

His Dad sighed curtly before walking into the kitchen, opening the fridge and peering inside. "Young lad, do you like cupcakes or popsicles."

"A cupcake is fine."

Grillby's Dad brought out a small plate of homemade cupcakes, setting some down onto the counter. "The poor boy is so small, he needs to eat more. Always offer desserts, Grillby."

"Dad!" Grillby said, "I was going to give him some after!"

"Know what, have some popsicles as well," His Father said, bringing out a few popsicles. "When we have guests, we make sure they're well fed."

"Wait, this is all homemade?" Sans asked, already muffled by a cupcake as his eating desires got the best of him.

"Of course! We never settle for anything less than homemade!" He said, beaming. "We specialize in food that's comfort food, to make sure everyone has a full stomach!"

"Dude," Sans said, mouth full of his chewed cupcake as he turned to Grillby. "I love your house."


	17. Chapter 17

Undyne huffed, wiping sweat from her brow as she left her classroom. It’s been days, and Monster Kid’s obsession with her was getting out of hand.

He didn’t have a kid crush on her, thankfully, he seemed to really love fighting. Mettaton was his old idol, but he must have saw the new fighter blood of Undyne and attached himself onto her. She wasn’t really sure what to do about it, social situations weren’t her thing. Whenever she had a problem, Gerson told her to kill it, which she couldn’t do because he was illegal. And wrong.

Undyne was never supposed to be a person of power, nor of strength. A follower was her intended role, given to her by the Storybook of Legends. Not a good guy, not an evil doer, just one who followed instructions. Lead Snow White into the forest, pretend to take her dust, and let her run free. Such a short and simple destiny, there wasn’t many conditions she had to fill. Just to be strong enough to take someone to the woods and pretend to kill them.

As if Undyne would let the Evil King’s child hurt her girlfriend. Undyne knew they couldn’t ever be romantically involved in the public, that Alphys’ life would forever be better on the path set for her, and she was okay with that. Undyne only had to serve the new Evil King long enough to get Alphys into the forest, from there she could switch sides, become Alphys’ personal guard. Keep her safe from the new Evil King, wherever they were.

It’d be risky, but Undyne was willing to pull through with that plan. Maybe she could sneak in and cuddle with her at night, or escort her from her daily duties as a Queen. A little secret relationship, just between them. Everyone would think Alphys was dating Mettaton, and Undyne was okay with that. It was fine.

However, it wouldn’t work with Monster Kid following her everywhere. Even to the bathroom! The kid tried to sneak inside before she almost round house kicked him out. He clearly just wanted attention from a role model, but Undyne was not that girl. She was about to lose it as this point. He had good intentions, and he didn’t understand any better, but Undyne didn’t know how to get him to go away.

The major problem with his stalking was that Undyne, well, kind of had a big secret girlfriend no one could find out about. And going on dates with her were becoming more impossible with Undyne’s stalker. To think that it wouldn’t the many, many fans of Snow White’s destiny that would put a strain on their relationship, but a single little boy who has a destiny with shoes and wanted one with swords.

Running from him was becoming more of chore than she thought. Undyne already ran to and from school everyday, but at this rate she’d be having more of a workout. The busy person inside of her cheered at the thought of more intense workouts, but the romantic side of her was getting annoyed from this situation. She just wanted to hold Alphys’ hand, just once, without the fear of anyone bursting in and ruining it without a second thought.

Was this how their lives were going to be for the rest of their existence? Constantly dodging and weaving, left and right, just for a slight chance of romance? Undyne already committed herself to Alphys, she’d do anything for her, but this was going to be harder than she expected.

Sweat trailed down her blue scales as she checked around the back of the school from a window, looking for an escape. She was only on the first story, and while her climbing skills were nothing compared to Sans and Grillby’s, it wasn’t too high to cause any damage.

Bringing out her mirror, she ducked behind a collection of lockers, clicking away on Alphys’ own magical mirror energy.

‘ _Wanna meet up? - Undyne_ ’

She checked out into the hallway. Monster Kid, likely still looking for her, scampered past a few people quite a distance away. Kid sure did have some dedication, that was for sure.

‘ _Oh, I can’t. I’m too busy meeting up with you. - Alphys_ ’

‘ _Where? - Alphys_ ’

Undyne’s mouth pulled back into a toothy grin at the joke, quickly replying to her amazing girlfriend. She loved Alphys so much.

‘ _Behind the school. MK is stalking me again and we could probably chill for a few minutes. Like a mini date? - Undyne_ ’

‘ _Sure! I’ll be there in a minute, Grillby accidentally caught a book on fire when he got too angry reading it so I have to get rid of it first. - Alphys’_

‘ _Cool, see you there - Undyne_ ’

The moment their conversation had calmed the storm of words, both parties were quick to delete the messages, one after another disappearing from their inboxes until no evidence was present. Only another step in their game of hide and seek from the public eye. One peek over a shoulder, one wrong kiss, one stutter of a word, and it could all be over. Be careful, be safe. For their relationship.

Crisp air cut across her scales as she pushed open the nearby window, pushing her bag over the edge before she followed, jumping down onto the grass below. The schools first floor was a tad higher than most normal buildings, but it was an entire castle, so the change did make sense. What didn’t have any logic behind it was why a school would be held at a castle, Undyne thought that was a waste of money. Then again, the school was funded by the Queen, and it was the most popular. They had enough money to likely build a second castle just for show.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take Alphys too long to arrive, considering she had to escape from the constant media that seemed to trail her much like Monster Kid did for Undyne. Once Undyne experienced a fraction of attention from one child, she understood immediately the struggles Alphys went through.

“Hey,” Alphys said, stopping next to her. “You just want to hang out here for a bit before the lunch bell rings?”

“Yeah, then we can go find our spot,” Undyne said, “It’s a good thing we both got to be released from class early. My teacher accidentally stabbed his hand. What happened in your class?”

“Teacher got turned into a frog.”

Undyne blinked a few times.

“It’s more common than you think,” Alphys said, “He’s Froggit’s Dad, so he turns into a frog sometimes. Has to call in his wife to kiss him back. I just went to Grillby’s studyhall to wait until lunch, but this works.”

“That sounds like a boring class, being in all of those Princess things,” Undyne said, “If I had to learn how to properly wear dresses everyday I’d throw up.”

“I like some of them, sometimes!” Alphys said, “Like science. It’s not a Princess specific class, but I love it. My Mom won’t put me into any higher advanced science classes, though, it sucks. I wish I could sneak out of my crown class and watch you and everyone else in Defense and Training.”

“That’d be awesome! I could kick those punks butts and you could cheer me on!” Undyne said.

Alphys giggled. “Yeah. Oh, did you read that romance story I gave you?”

“Do you mean the dragon one?” Undyne asked, “Because I read it, then got confused, then had to read it again. Who’s your OTP again from here? There’s so many characters I forgot which one’s you shipped.”

“There’s a lot of ships,” Alphys said.

The shorter continued to ramble on about her favorite ships, Undyne listening with interest. Ships weren’t really her thing, nor was reading, but it made Alphys happy, so Undyne was willing to partake these activities with her anyday. Sure, she didn’t understand, and she had the attention span of a turnip whenever character development was brought up, yet she tried her best to listen. Alphys looked cute whenever she was passionate about something.

Undyne hated it whenever Alphys’ destiny was brought up. Her outer beauty wasn’t anything to go by, while adorable, it didn’t compare to her true personalities beauty. Undyne loved it whenever she laughed so hard she’d snort, or when a butterfly once landed on her snout so her eyes went crossed and she fell backwards off of a log. To her, those were what she thought about. Much less her personality.

When Alphys wasn’t struggling with anxiety, she was amazing to watch. Her skills in science were uncompared, and her personality blossomed forth the moment she talked about the stories she read. Her red and white frilled dress shifted in the wind, catching the words tumbling from her mouth and whisking them away. This was the girl she loved.

“I love you so much,” Undyne groaned, “Agh, I needa go punch something!”

“Wait, why do you need to punch something?” Alphys asked.

“You make me feel so many darn emotions!” Undyne said, waving her fists around. “Just let me go punch a few trees real quick.”

“While that is really, really hot,” Alphys mumbled, fanning her now intensely blushing face. “Do you wanna… kiss me instead?”

Ever since they started going out, her confidence inside of herself was boosting, a fact Undyne was rather happy about. She loved Alphys, and seeing the small lizard finally start to appreciate things about her that Undyne admired was a good thing. Alphys deserved to love herself just as much as Undyne did.

“Heck yeah I do!” Undyne roared.

She leaned over quickly, giving her a small peck on the lips. Kissing was a bit difficult for her, especially with her teeth, so small kisses would work. Not to mention Undyne wasn’t one who liked to talk about love, she preferred to show it. By punching trees and killing bears mainly, but kissing worked.

“Yoooooo!”

The two monster girls snapped away from each other, turning towards the very obvious child standing around the corner. Having somehow trailed Undyne outside, bouncing from one foot to another as he gawked.

“Undyne is dating Alphys White!” Monster Kid cheered gleefully, like him finding out was a good thing. “I have to tell everyone! Yooo, you’ll become so popular!”

There was nothing to do but to stand in shock as the kid ran off towards the front of the school, a large grin on his face.

“What do we do?” Undyne asked, her soul thudding against her chest.

“S-Stop him!”

Kicking Undyne into gear, both girls ran after him, Undyne picking up Alphys so she could arrive faster.

He couldn’t tell anyone! They had to stop him!

~~~~~~

Monster Kid rumbled into the cafeteria, happily bouncing on his feet with the biggest grin on his face. Sans turned from Papyrus, who was getting a school lunch due to having forgotten it at home that morning. He’s seen Monster Kid around, particularly around Undyne. As a now constant appearance within his life, Sans knew the guy a little bit better. Didn’t make him any more of a friend, but he knew him enough to talk to him now.

“You’re looking pretty more energetic today, kid,” Sans said, “How come?”

“Alphys and Undyne are dating!” Monster Kid whispered excitedly, “I’m going to tell everyone right now! It’s going to make Undyne so much more popular!”

Sans almost dropped his bookbag at the words. His eye sockets, now wider than the void of Monster Kid’s obliviousness, stared at him with intense fear. If this got out, which was a guarantee from Monster Kid, Alphys’ and Undyne’s lives would be ruined. They’d be a scandal.

“Kid, I don’t -” Sans said, in a hurry.

“Hey guys!”

The sheer volume of Monster Kid’s voice overpowered the cafeteria, causing quite a few students to turn. This was a good chunk of the school. One person knowing was bad enough, but _everyone_? Did he not realize the consequences on Undyne’s life by telling the world that she was dating the most famous legend?

Far too late did Undyne and Alphys appear, Undyne skidding to a halt inside of the cafeteria. Both looked, horrid faces observing the state of the cafeteria. There wasn’t enough time to react, to do anything. Monster Kid had everyone attention, this was their end. He was going to tell everyone.

“I saw something super duper cool about Alphys White!” Monster Kid said.

Sans took one last took at Papyrus, who was covering a gloved hand against his mouth, his tray having been long ignored. Undyne and Alphys were in the same state, the poor Princess on the verge of tears. This was the first time Sans saw utter fear in their eyes.

Undyne and Alphys loved each other. It was risky, but they had sacrificed so much to do this. So much to find true and real happiness.

Would he be willing to risk everything he’s built, everything he has, for his friends?

There was no hesitance. Yes, he would. For their happiness, he’d sacrifice everything.

“It’s about -”

“It’s about me,” Sans said. He stepped forward, no change for regretting it as he peeled off his hood from his skull, revealing his face to the entire school. “I’m the son of the Evil King.”


	18. Chapter 18

The clock, ever so persistent, continued to tick away each second. The HeadMaster had his arms crossed, looking down at Sans like he was interrogating him. Which was quite a possibility, given their usual encounters.

His grand reveal didn't go very well. There was some screaming, someone fainted, and overall there was a lot of reactions that made the few shreds of Sans' self esteem be burned to ashes. There wasn't very much other options for the students to react, though. He was told to be the next evil, murderous tyrant. It wasn't exactly a good way to reveal himself to most of the school.

Sans looked towards the mirror, and, for the first time in forever, saw his skeleton face. Not hidden by a hood, not shrouded in the shadows, out for the world to see. His ears were curled against his skull, evident of his emotions.

This was his end. The final chapter of his story. Now that everyone knew who he was, it was done. Over. All of his friends hated him now, didn't they? He was supposed to be their enemy.

"Okay, I know what I did wasn't exactly… thought through," Sans said, holding out his hands.

"Sans, I'm so proud!" The HeadMaster said.

"What?" Sans asked.

"You're finally starting your destiny!" He locked his hands together. "I can ask for a special pardon if you'd like to sign the book early!"

"Oh, no no, I didn't do that at all," Sans said, "That wasn't my intention with that."

"... What."

"I'm still not for my destiny, I didn't take off my hood for that," Sans said, "I'm not signing the book."

The clock ticked again. Distant chatter of students could be heard below the outdoor balcony, muted by the closed doors.

"Oh, sorry, I had gotten my hopes up," He sighed, "You'll come around one day, Sans."

"No, I won't."

"So why did you take off your hood?"

Sans couldn't answer that. No one could know about Undyne and Alphys, even to explain his own actions. Sans would do all he could to support them, even from here.

The HeadMaster took his silence as a worrying answer. "Have you been taking advice from someone?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" Sans asked.

"Has anyone tried to make you any offers?" The HeadMaster asked, "Any advice at all? Whispers?"

"Um… none that I can recall," Sans said, "How come?"

The HeadMaster settled back down into his chair taking a glance at their reflections in the mirror. "No reason."

More chatter from outside. The whole school was riled up from Sans' sudden reveal, no doubt the student body and teachers alike were buzzing with the gossip. Better him be the victim than Alphys and Undyne.

"The reason is that Monster Kid found out I was a skeleton and he was going to tell everyone," Sans lied, "That's why I decided to just take my hood off myself. If it was going to come out I figured I'd be the one to do it. Own up to it."

"That makes sense," He said, "But do you realize that now we have to deal with the publicity of a skeleton having attended school? With Grillby's little rumors, we could contain it, but you just gave a solid number of our student body proof that a skeleton attends here and lives in town."

"I know, but it's fine," Sans said, "I won't be here for long anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Sans folded his arms together. "I'm a walking horror show, I scare everyone. No one's going to be comfortable with me going here, much less me being near them, so it's best if I don't come here anymore. It'll make everyone feel safer."

"You can't just leave!" He said.

"I don't need any of my classes!" Sans said, "I'm failing all of my evil ones, and I don't want to follow my destiny! None of my friends would even miss me anyway."

For once, they seemed to finally have made headway into an understanding conversation. He didn't try to convince Sans, or undermine and try to twist his words. He remained quiet, listening and processing.

"Is this what you truly want?" He asked.

Sans nodded. "Yeah."

"If it were up to me," He said, "I'd put you back into your classes. I always assumed you were just going through a phase. But… I don't understand you, Comic Sans, I really don't." He leaned back behind the desk, pulling out a pen to click. "Very well, I'll allow you to leave. And… May I say, I'm sorry about your friends."

"It's fine," Sans said, "It was bound to happen anyway."

~~~~~~

So many years were spent stressing what would happen if his identify was revealed to the world. Recently, he lost more and more sleep, laying awake at night with the haunting thoughts of his identity.

Yet he was oddly calm. Sans had spent all of his worrying before and had dried it up. He wasn't trying, he felt rather… Empty. Long ago he accepted their friendships would never last, that he'd likely never be with them forever. They would all move on, live their destinies and happily ever afters, and he'd stay back. They'd wonder why he made no progress, and the truth would eventually rise.

His fate was always meant for despair. First his original friend, now his new ones. His life would be an endless loop of failed friendships, he should of learned his lesson the first time. It was okay, Sans still had books.

He didn't bother traveling through the school, opting for a quick shortcut instead of a walk of shame. No need, he already knew what everyone was talking about.

Kitty was silent when he arrived home, standing in the living room. Of course she had been there, she eats in the Cafeteria.

“I wonder how many rumors are going around,” Sans said, “Maybe they’ll come up with the skelefart nickname from Wonderland. Remember that? ‘There goes the skelefart’, heh… it was my favorite one.” Sans pulled a piece of paper out of his bag. “Pretty tear-able, right?”

She kept being silent, blinking back tears.

“I’m sorry,” Sans muttered quietly.

“It’s not your fault,” She whispered, “What are we going to do?”

“I already thought about this,” Sans said, setting his bag back down onto the couch. “I think it’d be best if I just… disappeared. I could hide out in here, I’m fine with reading books, and I have the mirrorcast shows to watch. You can pretend you didn’t know, tell people I ran away. They’ll think you were a victim, no one would try to egg our house or anything, and you can say I left town because I was discovered. It might work.”

“Is that anyway to live?” Kitty asked.   
  
“I don’t think I have any more options. Do you have any ideas?”

Kitty, unable to respond, sat back down onto the couch. She dug her clawed hands into her lavender hair, trying to calm her breath. “I hate this,” She whispered, “I hate this so much.”

Sans sat down next to her. “Hey, it’s not that bad! It’s not a great excuse, but it’s our best one. I’ll be able to live here with you, you can still hear some of my awesome puns, Right?”

“It’s Wonderland all over again!” Kitty said, “We thought we got away from that, but we never did! You won’t be able to leave the house again, people will call me the skeleton sister freak. But we don’t have anywhere else to go and we don’t even have Mom… I’m scared.” Kitty hugged her knees to her chest. “We have no one, no money, no where to run…”

“We have each other. And for money, I could probably find an online job. Pretend to be you, and while you’re in school I can get us some money. Clean up the house. Like a stay at home mom, just with no children and would be attacked if he went out into public.”

“But I don’t want a repeat of Wonderland, you were happy here!” Kitty said, “Sure, we don’t have Mom anymore, but you had friends, I had friends.”

“You still have your friends, Kitty.”

“I wouldn’t want to be friends with people who insult my brother.”

Sans smiled sadly at her. “You deserve friends, it’s not their fault they think I’m evil. My Dad was evil, he left a bad image of me. And they don’t know I’m not signing the book.”

“No, I refuse to be with people who attack others I care about,” Kitty said, “And if you want to try to stay at home thing, we can do that. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” Sans said, “Wanna just… chill tonight? Talk about our day?”

“That sounds good.”

After that, they had settled down and gotten some leftover takeout, the two trying to forget about the crazy day they had just experienced. It didn’t work very well. Both of them were obviously upset over the events, but understood it was better than letting Alphys and Undyne take the fall. They’d have to keep their relationship a secret from now on, and Sans wished them the best of luck. He still cared about them, and it was best if he never saw them again. Alphys would be safe, Undyne would be as well. This was probably just one slip up, they’d learn from this.

~~~~~~

Cold air drifted into the room as Sans pushed open the window, adjusting the duffle bag on his shoulder. A note, folded within his hands, was floated over to his bed, propped up for his sister to find the next morning.

“I’m sorry, Kitty,” Sans whispered.

He pushed one leg after the other, dropping outside in the grass. Once he had escaped, Sans pushed the window back down again, effectively closing off his house.

This was better, for everyone. He shouldn’t have been selfish and made friends, or else none of this would have happened. This was his fault. He should have stayed in the shadows, away from everyone, where he belonged. At the end of the day, Sans was a skeleton, and he’d always be one. Sure, he wasn’t ever going to follow his destiny, and he refused to hurt anyone that was innocent, but the world would never see that. And he was okay with that. Sans had grown accustomed to this lifestyle, he’d be fine.

With his abilities to teleport and use magic, while Sans wasn’t an expert in that field, it would lend some good job opportunities to him. He had a few hundred dollars from writing poems online and selling them, just to build a small allowance. Not much, but a decent start. He could sleep inside trees just fine, so if he could get a job over a few towns, he could build up enough money to rent out a small room, or maybe buy an apartment. Send some money to Kitty, recommend Grillby’s bar for passing people. It could work. He could pretend he was the youngest sibling of the Cheshire family, that he wasn’t Sans, or he could possibly tuck his ears and tail away and pretend he was just a plain monster.

Sans couldn’t help but wonder what everyone thought of him. Alphys would understandable be disgusted, much like Papyrus would. They were good people, their destinies were set against his own. Undyne would be surprised, probably because she was supposed to serve him for her destiny, not to mention that the supposed enemy of her lover was in their friend group. Grillby… 

Sans had no idea how he’d feel. Happiness? Regret?

At least Grillby would have no use for his book anymore. And at least he knew his savior had known he was searching and accepting his thanks.

Everything was settled, no one needed him any longer. And he was okay with that.

“Don’t you dare.”

Sans jerked at the sound of Kitty’s voice, turning to find her standing behind him, the sparkles of a teleport wavering in the air. She looked exhausted, she probably had been teleporting around to find him. Tears spilled freely from her eyes, lips trembling.

“Don’t you _dare_ ,” She repeated, voice harsh and grieved, “Even think about leaving.”

“But Kitty -”

“Don’t you dare!” Kitty yelled, “You don’t have any right to run away!”

“Kitty, you don’t understand!” Sans said, “It’s better if I leave!”

Kitty stepped forward, twin tails bouncing under the sharp moonlight. “No it’s not! Sans, ever since we ended up here, all we’ve had is each other. Sure, other people may come and go, but we’ve always been together. Who cares about everyone else!”  
  
“I do!” Sans said, “They may hate me now, but they’re still my friends!” The duffle bag slid off of his shoulder, thumping to the ground. “And I care about you. That’s why I have to leave. I want you to be happy.”

“You think I’m going to be happy with you away?” Kitty asked, “And do you think you can just sacrifice your own happiness for me?”

“I-I don’t know,” Sans said, hugging his arms together. “Everywhere I go, it’s the same result. You don’t deserve that.”

“And neither do you.” Kitty spoke so quietly that it was barely captured in the wind. “It’s better if we suffered alone than separately. Neither of us have our Dads, we lost our Mom, our friends, but we’ve always had each other. Don’t make me lose that too.”

“I’m sorry,” Sans whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

Kitty engulfed him into a hug, Sans sniffing away the tears that were spilling from his eye sockets.

“You’re so considerate of other people, and I love that about you, it makes you the best brother ever,” Kitty said, “But you never consider your own happiness, or how you becoming distant could hurt others. You did the same to Alphys, and you tried to do the same with me. Hiding away from me isn’t going to fix everything, I know it sounds better, but sometimes the risk is worth it.”

“I’m sorry,” Sans repeated.

“We can hide together, we can run together, we can do anything, but we do it as a family.” Kitty pulled away. “Sure, we can’t always go out in public, and my school life is going to be a bit wild, but I’d rather do that with you than find some dumb note on your bed.”

“How’d you figure out I would run away?” Sans asked.

“I know you. You didn’t try to eat any ketchup and you went to bed without even grabbing your story to read because you knew you’d be leaving. I figured I’d check your room and I found it empty.”

“I’m sorry,” Sans repeated one final time, ducking into her shoulder to cry more.

Kitty sniffed, looking up towards the moon. “I know,” She whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I kinda left the last one on a cliffhanger, I decided to spare you and upload one day early! I know, I'm so kind.
> 
> Also, this totally isn't me selling out and telling you to check out my Youtube. Not at all. But since you're here, I mean, links on my profile, and I'll show you a dandy video I just made. Might wanna shoot it a subscribe or glance because I do plan to make an animation meme or animatic based off of this story.
> 
> https://youtu.be/_vTOkbZR_m4


	19. Chapter 19

A bag, full of school supplies, slammed against the fur covered couch. Undyne grunted, plopping down into the chair with boiling anger. A pelt bounced from the sudden shift.

“Kiddo, yer seem to be having a rough ‘n tough day,” Gerson chuckled, “You need’a go punch a tree?”

Yes, she did have a bad day. That was rather clear. After all, she found out one of her very few friends was the man she was supposed to be working for in her future. Not to mention the man that would poison her girlfriend and hurt thousands of people.

Sans was the next Evil King. Sans was a skeleton. Sans was evil.

Her pent up emotions seemed to spill out at this inquiry, bringing up feelings she never even thought she had.

“No!” Undyne said, “For once, for the love of any gods out there, I want you to talk to me! Please! Can you do that? Talk to your own daughter?”

“I ain’t real good with these emotional things, Undyne,” Gerson said, “Yer ain’t goin’a punch a tree? Real good for them emotions.”

“Sans is a skeleton!”

“Oh.”

Gerson sat down across from her, leaning his frail and used body on the table. Undyne chewed on her lip, clearly stressed.

“So yer finally figured it out, huh?” Gerson asked.

“Finally?” Undyne looked up at him.

“I used to work for the Evil King, remember? Did the ol’ mans dirty work, I say, and it was dirty o’ indeed. Like one time, let me tell you, there was -”

“Dad, please, God, don’t tell me anymore stories from your evil days,” Undyne groaned, “But what do you mean finally?”

“I know a skeleton when I see one ‘er them, can sense them.” Gerson tapped the side of his head. “Recognized him the moment I met him.”

Undyne looked up, surprised. He knew, this entire time? Everyday, he could have told Undyne, could have warned Alphys, and instead he just ignored it? Seriously?

There was so much confusion flowing through her mind that she felt overwhelmed. Sans, the person in the group that always was everyone’s support, the boy who was their voice of reason, was the next Evil King. He was evil.

Was their friend group just a game to them? Had he been tricking them this entire time? What kind of sick game was this? Bending emotions, lying every twist and turn, just to screw with them.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Undyne asked.

“Well, kiddo, er… he didn’t seem to be g’ing out and hurting anyone, so…” Gerson muttered, scratching his beard. “Not much to tell there.”

“He’s the son of the Evil King, Dad, he’s bad!” Undyne said, “You talk a lot about your time with the Evil King, so why aren’t you more worried? You’ve seen all of the bad things he did, Sans is going to be following his destiny!”

“You sure about that?” Gerson asked, “I got something t’a say, and lettme tell you, that Sans is nothing like his Father. I remember that old geezer in high school. Always wanted t’a skip class, and what a hoot it was!”

“Sans skipped his class too, I don’t get what you’re trying to prove,” Undyne said.

“He skipped his class to help out’a friend, right?”

That caught Undyne’s attention. Once she was sitting back, looking over the events, she realized a fatal flaw in her thought process. 

“I heard when the boy wen’ in and met Alphys, the poor lad ran away, probably didn’t want to scare your girlfriend,” Gerson said, “Then he’s real nice t’a you and yer friend group, let me tell you, his Daddy ain’t a nice person. He used to skip to burn down a teachers house, cheated on all his tests, heck, even talked to some of the younger kids. Always was a creep. Real god he was at manipulating, but only did it for gain. Selfish, if I had’ta tell ya.”

“I - We - What?” Undyne said, digging her nails into her scalp. “I don’t understand. I - Aren’t skeletons born evil?”

“Not really. Would be a rowdy world if they were, I knew his Mother pressured him into it, and the Evil King took it like the gospel. I believe since the Evil King is on his, ahem, on his… punishment, the lad never was raised like that. Got to be whatever he wanted. No evil around to poorly influence him.” Gerson grumbled a few incoherent words, obviously not fit for a long pep talk. His parental skills weren’t very good, especially when it came to emotional things. “Sans is as clean as a whistle, I tell you. No need t’a rat him out if he’s not being a rat, I tell ya.”

“But he’s still a skeleton, isn’t he going to -”

Sign the Storybook. That’s what Undyne was going to say next, but paused in her statement. Sans already had told them he never wanted to sign. Heck, he already warned them his Dad had an evil destiny, how did she not see this before?

“Tell me what Sans has done, and I’ll compare it to his old man,” Gerson said, “How’d he meet you?”

“He was helping the school register people for the signing. He said he didn’t want to do it, but he did anyway.”

“The Evil King once was forced to help the lunch ladies and he had poisoned the mashed potatoes. Over a thir' of the school was severely ill and they were all sent to hospitals. Whoo, what a day.”

“He skipped class to help me when I asked him to.”

“The Evil King once skipped three weeks to hunt down someone who had sent him a bad message online and killed their parents. Worst part was the ‘ol geezer had brought me back their torso to practice taking the heart out. He didn’t want me t’a go an’ screw his destiny.”

“Oh.”

Gerson chuckled. “Eh, it was the Evil King, I managed, yes I d’d. Though, Sans ain’t like his Pops, you should know that. Kids real nice, heck, makes good puns. The Evil King hated jokes. “

“What even happened to the Evil King?” Undyne asked, “All I know is that the curse of Wonderland happened, then he disappeared right afterwards.”

“It’s best to leave the rotten where they lie. He’s been given his due.”

Their home was rather stagnant, a few flies whispering around the ceiling fan, ignorant to the conversation below. Undyne curled her arms, then stretched them to flex in the dust filled air.

“Is Sans a good person?” Undyne asked.

“I think he knows,” Gerson said, “But why’d the young fella show who he was? Surely he’d know it’d cause a commotion.”

His daughter paused. Sans knew it’d cause a commotion, that’s why he did it. It was the only distraction at the time that could have actually worked, both in the short and long run. It not only would distract Monster Kid and the entire cafeteria, but it completely tainted the entire topic. Monster Kid had been obviously traumatized, and the reveal had made him effectively shut up about what he saw. Undyne managed to pull him to the side and talk him out of it, but she had been shaken up herself from the reveal. Additionally, everyone was so supportive of Alphys that the topic was immediately dropped.

Sans saved their relationship in exchange for himself.

Still, it made Undyne’s jaw ache from how much she was grinding her teeth together. Why would he hide it? Weren’t they all friends? If he wasn’t trying to manipulate them, he should have just told them. Papyrus was an accepting guy, and Grillby -

Oh sh*t, Grillby!

He did see a skeleton, didn’t he? The guy hadn’t been making it up at all, Sans probably did save him! No wonder Sans always tried to avoid the topic, because it was his identity on the line!

But she was far more worried about having left him waiting in their spot. Since Papyrus and Sans had been in the cafeteria with Undyne and Alphys, Grillby hadn’t witnessed it.

“I have to text Grillby,” Undyne said, jumping over to her bag.

Gerson only watched with a chuckle, leaning back on the old table. He knew Undyne, while a bit of a hothead, was a listener. She wouldn’t just let Sans up and disappear without an explanation, she was good like that. Gerson, while having some difficulties, raised her decently.

Sans was nothing like his Dad, and she’s starting to shake away the societal teachings in favor of the truth.

~~~~~~

Grillby walked down the hallway. No one showed up for lunch, and something was clearly wrong. Now was the time between periods, right before their last one. What happened at lunchtime? Why was everyone whispering amongst themselves?

“... Someone passed out…”

“Can’t believe…”

“... Poor Alphys…”

Finally did Grillby get an explanation when he had stopped by the water fountain to eavesdrop. Not honorable, sure, but he wanted some answers. Two girls were standing by, one filling up her water bottle as the two gossiped.

“I don’t feel safe here anymore,” The first girl whispered, “Imagine that we’ve been going to the same school with that kind of person for months, and no one even bothered to warn us?”

“I heard he’s in the HeadMasters office right now. Good thing, hopefully he’ll be kicked out.”

“I don’t think he will be. Everyone has to come here to sign the book, why would he be any different?”

“But… he’s the son of the Evil King. That’s pushing it. He should just sign in jail.”

Grillby froze at the words. Everything clicked together in one logical conclusion. The whispers about Alphys, why everyone felt bad about her, why everyone was so scared. The son of the Evil King was here, in this school, he was in the HeadMasters office.

Grillby was right! All this time, he was right! He hadn’t hallucinated it, he did see a skeleton! He knew it!

Oh, he was going to brag. After he thanked his savior, of course, but it felt nice to be right. After weeks of people mocking him for his claims, he was proven right. There was a skeleton, here, _in the school_. The person he owed his life to was here!

“I’m just mad that the HeadMaster knew this whole time and never said squat. I mean, come on, wasn’t he a danger to our health?”

“He is a Cheshire, though, so he might have a different destiny.”

A… A what?

“No, Kitty has the destiny. I honestly thought Sans was a decent guy, but now that I know he’s a skeleton and the next Evil King, I -”

The sound of a dropped bag broke them out of their conversation, turning to Grillby. Both girls seemed to take that as a queue to leave, muttering apologies as they scurried off. Leaving Grillby to stand in his shock as the bell rang.


	20. Chapter 20

“I DON’T GET WHY HE’D HIDE IT FROM US!”

Papyrus, with a bounce in his step, walked so feverishly around the room one could argue he was chasing an invisible ghost. They were inside of Papyrus’ house, which had nothing of note about it. It looked like an everyday, normal humans house, minus the several boxes of noodles stacked in the corner, obviously having been shipped from his Father. It was nice to see that Robin Hood still paid attention to his son, even while busy.

“I’m so stressed,” Alphys groaned, running her hands down her face.

Adapting to the information was just as difficult for Papyrus and Alphys, but the two were quick to reply to Undyne and meet up. Papyrus was a naturally innocent and believing person, so he was already on board with believing Sans wasn’t evil. Alphys wasn’t sure what to believe, nor was Undyne.

“Did Grillby reply?” Undyne asked.

“NO, HE LEFT ME ON READ,” Papyrus said, “SANS HASN’T LOOKED AT MY MESSAGE YET. HE DIDN’T EVEN SHOW UP TO SCHOOL TODAY.”

Undyne had spent the night thinking things over, and had decided to meet up with everyone else the next day to talk about it. Except for Grillby, as he wasn’t responding to any messages. Heck, he wasn’t at school either, just like Sans wasn’t.

“What should we do?” Alphys asked, “He’s… he’s the… He’s supposed to poison me.”

“SANS NEVER HURT US BEFORE, WE SHOULD AT LEAST ASK HIM FOR AN EXPLANATION,” Papyrus said, “NOT TO MENTION HE NEVER LIED ABOUT HIS DAD AND DESTINY BEING EVIL, HE JUST NEVER WAS SPECIFIC.”

“Does that mean he was planning something, though?” Alphys asked.

“BUT MAYBE IT MEANS HE WAS SCARED. YOU SAW WHAT HE DID IN THE CAFETERIA, HE DID THAT FOR YOU BOTH BECAUSE YOU GUYS LET MONSTER KID SEE YOU! HE LOOKED SCARED AND PROMPTLY RAN AWAY. IF HE WAS TRULY EVIL, WOULDN’T HE HAVE USED TO OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE CHAOS, NOT RUN FROM IT? NOT TO MENTION HE’S SAID SEVERAL TIMES HE HATES HIS DAD AND HIS DESTINY, SO THAT MEANS HE HATES THE EVIL KING JUST AS MUCH AS WE DO, DAD OR NOT.”

“But that also means he could be lying,” Alphys objected.

“DOESN’T SANS LOVE HIS MOM?”

“Yeah, he seems really bummed out whenever she’s brought up,” Undyne said, “But why?”

“WHY WOULD SANS WANT TO BE LIKE THE MAN WHO PLACED A CURSE ON HIS HOMELAND, FORCED SANS AND KITTY TO RUN AWAY, AND HURT SO MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING HIS MOTHER!”

“That’s another good point,” Undyne said, “We’ve been told so much that all skeletons are naturally born evil, but Sans hasn’t done anything exactly evil. He’s nice, he shares notes, he helps Monster Kid open doors, and he took off his hood in front of everyone as a distraction for us. I don’t get it.”

“BECAUSE HE’S A GOOD PERSON,” Papyrus said, “AND HOPEFULLY STILL OUR FRIEND.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” The lizard whispered.

Alphys was the one having the most difficulties with this, and it was clear why. She had her entire life being trained for her destiny, and everyone had railed into her mind to not trust any skeletons. That they would bring danger into her life. Years and years of that constant reminder had set a distrust for all skeletons in Alphys, and now she was learning that her closest friend was the very person who was supposed to be her enemy. How was she supposed to react?

Sans never did try to hurt her. He was there for her, held her, comforted her, supported her when no one else would.

“I agree, actually,” Alphys said, “I think Sans is… is good. Maybe.”

“Just like that?” Undyne asked.

“I mean, look at what he’s done. He’s been nice and helpful, he said he never wanted to follow his destiny, and he tried to avoid me in the first place because of our story. Not to mention, um… you know I don’t like my destiny much anyway.” Alphys smoothed down her dress. “I don’t think he would have gone through the trouble of becoming my friend if he wanted to ruin my life.”

“UNDYNE, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

“I think I want the punk to explain,” Undyne said, “My heads spinning, and I think I punched enough trees to cut down on the forest a bit. Not to mention Grillby isn’t even here, so he’s missing out on this.”

“YOU GUYS DO ALSO RECALL A VERY FUNDAMENTAL FACT IN THE GOOD SANS ARGUMENT? THAT GRILLBY’S LIFE WAS SAVED BY SANS?” Papyrus asked.

“Not that I forgot that, but Gerson said his life was spared by the Evil King because he was useful,” Undyne said, “That doesn’t prove much.”

“SANS DIDN’T KNOW GRILLBY BEFORE THEN. THEIR DESTINIES DON’T EVEN HAVE ANYTHING RELATED, AS UNDYNE’S DESTINY WAS TO SERVE SANS. HE WOULD HAVE SAW NO PURPOSE IN SAVING GRILLBY AND WOULD HAVE LEFT HIM TO DIE. GRILLBY MAY HAVE A SMALLER, INDEPENDENT DESTINY, BUT HE’S STILL A GOOD DESTINY THAT FIGHTS AGAINST EVIL. SANS WOULD HAVE LET HIM DIE IF HE WAS TRULY EVIL, RIGHT?”

“Oh crap, I didn’t think about that,” Undyne said.

“I think we should go ask him,” Alphys said, “My driver remembers where he lives, so -”

“Good!”

Undyne suddenly scooped her girlfriend under one arm, rushing over to Papyrus and grabbing the human before he could make any ‘nyehs’ of objection.

“Let’s go!” Undyne said, “Time to go confront the punk!”

“Wait, my house! I have to lock it!” Papyrus said, waving his arms.

~~~~~~

Sans dug his fork into his chinese food, trying to scoop out some rice to eat. Chinese food, being demanding on their Mother’s bank account, was considered a luxury takeout for them. Mostly they stuck to the dirt cheap stuff, things to go easy. Whenever an opportunity to make some cash, like mowing someones grass or watching a baby appeared, one of them eagerly took it to lighten the load. Food was still a major chunk of their budget, so they tried to ease it up as much as they could, considering neither could cook for crap. Having dinner at other houses, like Grillby’s or Alphys’, were good tactics Sans used to use.

Now, to save money, he’d probably have no choice but to learn big, easy meals that could last for awhile. Sans already looked some of them up, along with some good websites for online jobs. His poems were a good idea, which he had revealed to Kitty. They didn’t make much, since they were short, but he could anonymously publish some more and some stories to make some cash. 

Basically, he’d become a stay at home Mom, just without a kid. It was their best decision, really. Sans would learn how to cook, make some money online to help ease their budget and get some income, and clean up the house. Kitty could focus on school, he could make sure their house wouldn’t get egged because he lived there.

“Are you sure you want to publish your stories? I didn’t even know you wrote them until now,” Kitty said, opening her container. “And you don’t have to do all of the chores, you can leave me some. But don’t -”

“You have to do the dishes.”

“You butt!” Kitty lightly smacked his shoulder, Sans laughing at her reaction. “You know doing the dishes suck!”

“Dishes a very bad circumstance for you,” Sans said, “If only I’d come clean and do them myself.”

“Hah!” Kitty threw her head back, “Good one.”

“Thank you. But how was school, oh great student that still attends.”

The mirror droned on with a show, not forgotten, simply in the background. They had decided to spend a nice night in together, to calm down from the stress of everything that’s happened. No need for hiding, no need for stressing. Just two siblings enjoying a peaceful afternoon in with one another.

“Oh, you should have seen it,” Kitty said, twitching her ears. “It was a mess. Everyone isn’t even mad at you - well, they kinda are, but they’re really mad at the HeadMaster. He did let you go to school without telling everyone, so they’re all mad at him. If anything, everyone’s more… scared of you, to put it.”

“That makes sense.” Sans sighed. He was a little upset over the whole thing, but it’d hopefully blow over. Wonderland was much harder, but that was because he was a kid. No one was afraid of a child. Now, as a teenager, he had an advantage, so people wouldn’t throw rocks at him again. “And no one’s being mean to you?”

“Not very many. I think everyone’s too busy gossiping about you to even notice me. I’m just your half sister, we don’t have the same Dad, to them it makes me practically unrelated to you.”

“How was everyone? Is Alphys okay?” Sans asked.

“She seemed… on edge,” Kitty said, “Undyne looked upset, she’s probably still figuring everything out. Papyrus was, well, he was Papyrus. Grillby was absent, though.”

“Poor Grillby,” Sans said, “I wonder how he’s taking the whole thing, now that he knows I’m the one who saved him.”

“I could ask him for the book back, now that he knows, if you want,” Kitty said, “I know you like to write on them, and that you’d probably want to finish your notes in it.”

“Just tell Grillby I know he wanted to thank me, and that it was no problem,” He said, “Grillby can keep the book or not, it’s his choice. He said he likes the notes so I don’t wanna take that away from him. He’s into review stuff like I am, so they probably help him think critically about the book more. It’s why I write them.”

“Maybe you can write reviews for money?” Kitty offered, “It’s be a good alternative until you’re confident with your stories to publish them.”

“Oh, I actually really like that.”

“But what are your stories about?”

Sans blushed, his ears pressing against his head, skull turning away. “Nothing.”

“They’re about romance, aren’t they?”

“Shut up!”

“I knew it. You’re such a sucker for romance, Sans.”

“Because romance is adorable, but it’s not the only thing my characters do! They also -”

A knock, or a sound more equivalent to intense pounding, broke through their conversation. Both Cheshire children looked towards the door, utterly caught off guard by a sudden guest.

As if they were set to have a specific reaction, both quickly went into their usual routines. Sans pulled up his hood on the spot, quickly gathering all evidence of his dinner from the living room and making a beeline for his room. Kitty turned up the volume, trying to drown out any possible sounds of Sans’ existence. They’ve had a lot of practice from Wonderland. Pretend Sans wasn’t home anytime someone came by. It helped a lot.

Kitty pulled open the door, not sure what to expect. Undyne was a middle option. Not her top guess to who was behind the door, but not her last. A boring outcome, but one that was uncertain. If it was the police of any sort, Kitty could steer them away. If it was kids from school, that was easy to deal with. Undyne, though, she wasn’t sure how to react. It seemed she didn’t think it through, because all Kitty could do was drop her jaw and make a sound between a dying pigeon and an inhale.

“Heyyy there,” Kitty said.

“Where’s Sans?” Undyne asked.

“He’s not here.” Kitty was automatic with the response, the words leaving her lips before she even processed them. She’s said it a lot.

“Bullsh*t, you and I both know he never leaves his house,” Undyne said.

“Rude, but fair,” Kitty said, “But seriously, he’s not here. If you came to kill him, don’t bother, okay?”

“I’m not here to kill him!” Undyne said, “We just need to talk!”

“We?”

Kitty peaked behind Undyne and quickly noticed the limo sitting in their driveway. “Oh, no, definitely not -”

“Don’t care.”

That was the thing about Undyne. She was a brute force kind of girl, especially when faced with a difficult decision. When she wanted something, like getting answers and possibly reconnecting with a friend from miscommunication, she’d do whatever.

Kitty was no physical match for Undyne. The fish monster pushed her way inside, looking around briefly.

“Wait, hold on, let’s talk about - you’re not scared or mad at him?” Kitty asked, quickly following after her.

“Of course I’m mad at him, he has some explaining to do.” Undyne pushed in the nearest door, noticed it was Kitty’s, and moved on. “And hiding from us won’t do anything, so we’re going to drag him out of the house and ask him some questions. We know he isn’t evil, we just want some answers.”

Kitty didn’t have any time to object before Sans’ room door was being kicked open, and boy, did he scream like a little girl. She didn’t see what happened inside, as she had been standing out of view, but she could hear Undyne some rustling around before, moments later, Undyne was carrying Sans out like a sack of potatoes.

“Okay, nerd, let’s go,” Undyne huffed, blowing a piece of red hair out of her face. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy another update my fine readers

One of the things Sans knew about life was that, in all situations, he would lose. In his destiny or not, the world was purposefully designed around destinies. If you had an evil destiny, that was it. You had no place but behind bars. After all, that's what your story dictated. If one was destined to be evil, evil had to be imprisoned.

Sans didn't expect this. His life had been so specific, time and time again, that he would never succeed with his identity. The game of life was one heavily stacked against him, and whenever he drew his cards, he lost. It was as simple as that.

Yet, here he was. Somehow... his friends still cared. That never happened before. When he made one single friend, so long ago, they left when his parents discovered who he was. His friends now, though, were sticking to him. Why, he didn't know, but they weren't trying to condemn him. At least not yet.

Papyrus, being the good soul that he was, obviously would believe in Sans. Honestly, having to break his heart and trust was by far the worst mental image he would have to face. How could anyone even think about hurting Papyrus? His face was so squishy and his personality was so pure it almost hurt. How could Sans even say no to him?

"I'm not sure how you want me to start," Sans said, leaning over with his elbows on his knees. He was sitting in the limo, having been shoved in against his will. "It's obvious I'm the kid of the Evil King..."

"Yeah, we all know," Undyne said, "But I just... explain, for the love of Toby Fox, please."

He rubbed the back of his skull, unsure where to start. Was there even a proper start to this? Sans never planned out any conversations. "Well, uh... I guess I can try, When I was younger, I used t'a get bullied a lot, and I learned that my - you know, my features -" Sans patted the sides of his face with both hands for emphasis, "- Earned some... unpleasantries towards me. Name calling, throwing rocks or food, chasing me away, egging my house, that kind of stuff. We figured out if I wore a hood and pretended to be only Cheshire, kept the skeleton part hidden, that I'd be able to move around without getting mocked every ten seconds. It worked a little better, a lot of people still knew who I was but it helped. It was after Kitty and I moved here that we decided to go 'no skeleton' for good. Kitty actually was the one who bought this hoodie." He pulled at the hoodie strings. "It's my favorite, she found an ad and bought it for Christmas. We weren't even planning for me to go to Ever After High, but then the HeadMaster made an offer. Said he'd let both me and Kitty attend without paying any fees for books or stuff, as long as we both came. And since, you know, Mom's out of the picture right now, we took that. He said he'd let me hide my identity, to not cause any panic and to keep me comfortable,"

"So that's why he didn't tell me," Alphys said, "Um, does that mean my Mom knows?"

"Only the Headmaster, his brother, and your Mom knows," Sans said, "Well, they were the only ones who did. I don't know why she didn't tell you, but it might have been my Mom that had an influence. She bought the house Kitty and I are staying at as a backup when we were born and she did mention once that she approached your Mother about my situation. That might be why she never told you."

"IS THAT WHY YOU ACTED SO WEIRD WHEN WE FIRST MET?" Papyrus asked, "YOU WERE PURPOSEFULLY TRYING TO AVOID PEOPLE, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND."

"Pretty much," Sans said. He tapped his fingers, ignoring the soft hum of the engine as he continued. "I've mentioned this before, but I've only ever had one friend before you guys. They were nice, we played a lot, but once their parents found out who I was they cut contact with me. I never wanted this all to happen." He motioned his arms at their current situation. "I wanted to go about school without leading anyone on, and have this happen. And it's why I ran from Alph' when I first met her. You know, daughter of Snow White is the worst possible friend to develop for... this face."

Sans jerked his thumb back at his skull, ears pressing down against the bone. He never wanted to have this talk, never wanted to bring the ugly truth to light.

Alphys looked down at her lap. That actually explained their first encounter. Why Sans suddenly looked so terrified when he found out her identity.

"So that explains why you hid your identity," Undyne said, "Okay, that's fair. And what happened in the cafeteria, you were being a distraction, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I panicked," Sans said, "It's fine now, at least. Me even being near you ruined any story the kid would have said. Is Monster Kid alright?"

"We managed to get it sorted out, we're good now," Undyne said, "So... thanks. For being there for us."

"Oh, uh..." Sans fell silent. He wasn't used to praise.

"Look, I'm not mad at you - That's a lie, I'm pissed," Undyne said, "But what about your Dad? You've always told us that you don't want to follow your destiny, what does he have to say?"

"I still don't want to follow my destiny, and I'm never going to," Sans said, "And for my Dad, I don't know. I imagine that he hates me, but I've never met him."

It was an unusual concept for their world, but one Sans lived with. Those with destinies were meant to be raised by their parents. Even the most vile, terrible villains of their world would reproduce and raise their children to be like them. Even from prison, there was at least still visiting hours, and evil doers were allowed a special pass for the first 13 years of a child's life to get them a good start, under watch naturally.

But Sans? Nope. Nothing. Not once has he ever met his Father. Sans doubted the Evil King knew what he looked like. He knew that he was now under punishment somewhere after the curse of Wonderland. His final evil deed before he was serving... whatever he was serving. Only a few people knew, and Sans couldn't be bothered enough to care. The guy had plenty of time to even try to be a parent when he was a child, so screw him.

Sans was fine with having only his Mother, and he was fine with never meeting the most evil man in the world. But, admittedly, he was a little upset over the idea that he apparently wasn't even worth his time to try and raise a heir. It really ruined Sans' self esteem growing up.

Even the Evil Fairy bothered to raise her child, come on!

Resentment was rather obvious. Sans hated his Father, that was for sure. On one hand, he was glad the guy never got to spread his terrible influence onto Sans, and on the other, he was upset that the guy thought himself to be above his own child. Who did that?

"You were telling the truth?" Alphys asked.

"I always was," Sans said, "I never plan to poison you or anyone. I'm not one for big things. I don't like the spotlight, I don't like a future involving being a tyrant, and being evil sounds awful. I never even met my Dad, so I don't care if his legacy goes and dies, whatever. Not my problem." Sans ran a hand over his tail, a tactic to calm himself. "I don't take promises lightly, and I can promise you I won't ever poison you. When I mentioned I'd like to do something simple for a future, I meant it."

"AND GRILLBY, DID YOU ACTUALLY - BY THE BRIDGE, DID YOU SAVE HIM?" Papyrus asked.

There wasn't any more reason to lie. He nodded.

"I was reading the book Alphys gave us, in the tree, then saw him walking across before he fell in," Sans explained, "Dove in and grabbed him, dragged him out, and used some magic to make sure he wasn't dying. I'm not great with my magic, I've never had any official training so everything I know it self taught." He squeezed his fingers together. "I couldn't leave a guy to drown, so I dove in and saved him. Didn't expect him to come into school and remember my face, much less holding my book."

"The Monster Calls," Alphys said.

"It was the one you gave me. Yeah. Grillby was spot on with everything but it really screwed over my whole identity thing, so I kept it under wraps."

With that out of the way, Sans pushed himself back, listening to the silence. At least they got closure. Sans wasn't sure what would happen next. He really wasn't. He often assumed that no matter what, people would turn away from him after they learned the truth. Now, though, he wasn't so sure.

These guys were different. They didn't come to his house to mock him, to yell at him. They were understandably frustrated and lied to, but they came to talk to him.

"You guys can stop being friends with me if you want, I get it," Sans said.

"WHAT? NO!" Papyrus said, sounding offended at the idea. "JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE DAD IS EVIL DOESN'T MEAN I WOULD WANT TO NOT BE YOUR FRIEND!"

"And Sans, I'm not going to stop being your friend if you haven't done anything wrong," Alphys said, "I don't even want to follow my destiny, so it's not impossible to think that you wouldn't want to either. I... just might need some more time to process everything."

"Yeah, Gerson and I talked a lot, and I think with everything you've done, you're good," Undyne said, "An evil guy wouldn't drop his identity for a friend."

The limo slowed to a stop at that point, Sans letting out a relieved sigh. He still had his friends. The fact finally settled in, Sans almost grinning so hard his skull ached. His friends didn't leave him this time! He had his friends!

"Mrs. White," The Driver said, rolling down the window. "It seems your Mother is home and has requested your presence."

And out of the window that thought went.

~~~~~~~

Alphys' Mother held an authority in the room. Not a firm one, but a gentle one. Birds would sing whenever she declared something, and none would try to argue with her. The great Snow White. 

Her Mother was a goddess. Alphys always found herself jealous, unable to live to her image. With gleaming, smooth skin, defined cheekbones, and a tail perfectly curved, she was beautiful. Any dress looked amazing. Alphys looked more cubby than her fit Mom, and she always hated it. It wasn't her Mom's fault, she knew that, but she also couldn't help the emotions. Her Mothers scales were a light yellow, soft eyes gleaming under the sunlight.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, dear, but I know you have a habit of worrying about things," She said, shaking her head. "Attending school with the Evil King myself was a hassle, and I didn't want to cause you stress."

That was fair. Alphys did drive herself crazy with worry, and the news would have driven her over the edge, no doubt.

"So... how is school?" She asked.

Alphys couldn't blame her Mother for their distance. She ran an entire Kingdom, and was a kind woman. She tried, she really did, but there was too much. Late arrivals were constant, sometimes she fell asleep in her office. Taking care of both a child and Kingdom was too much for one woman.

"Mom, can I... ask you something?" Alphys asked, "I know he's the son of the Evil King, but he's my friend. Please don't do anything."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I know that you're worried about me, and - well, he's good!" Alphys said, "He doesn't want to follow his destiny, please don't put him inside of jail!" Alphys said.

"I wasn't planning on jail, but you have to understand that he may become a threat," She said, "Especially if he isn't one now. For the good of the Kingdom we have to at least take precautions."

"Don't do anything too big, please!" Alphys said, running her hands over her dress. "And-And- Um, I - I'm not following my destiny either."

"What?"

The sudden surge of adrenaline shot through her body as she stood up. Alphys kept her hands running just like her mouth did, unable to contain the pent up feelings.

"I-I get that we're supposed to, and that he's supposed to be evil, but Sans is nice and he saved someone's life before, and I - I'm a lesbian, I've never felt that way towards Mettaton and I never will. And-And um, I really like Undyne! So - There!"

It was short, but nevertheless Alphys was breathing heavily. Regret immediately clung to the air as she saw her Mother's usually calm face now hanging with surprise. Shocked. Silence hung, no birds sung. Alphys sucked in a breath, face red, heart beating with the intensity of doing a public speech.

"Oh... I guess you can't control that, can you sweetie?" Her Mother said, smiling gently.

"Wait - I -" Alphys sputtered on words, falling flat any only response.

"I'll admit I've suspected for awhile, you've always been more prone to admiring strong females on shows," She said, "Not as role models, but more as crushes. You and Mettaton have gotten along, but there's no romance there, I can tell."

"You've known?" Alphys asked.

"For awhile, dear," She admitted, "Not only you, but Sans as well. When Mr. Grimm messaged me about Sans saving a boys life, I assumed the lack of an evil figure might have had a positive impact on his life. I'm sorry I've never brought any of this up before, I didn't want to push you out of the closet until you were ready, and I might have been wrong, so it was better to wait. And for Sans Cheshire, I believe simply having you close to him would be effective in watching him, in case his Father ever tries to make contact."

"Can he?" Alphys asked, "Make contact, I mean."

"Where he is now, no, it should be impossible," Her Mother said, giving a reassuring smile. "Thank you for telling me this, I know it must have been hard. And... although I'm not here often, I do want to try more. It's not fair to put pressure on you or anyone else. I'm not sure what the future holds, but as long as your happy, I'll be happy for you."

" I-" Alphys covered her mouth, happy beyond belief. "But um, I have one last request... for Sans, Kitty, and all of the children who ran from Wonderland."

~~~~~~

His life was the happiest it ever was.

Sans couldn't help himself. Sitting by the river bank, his excitement buzzed, pen eagerly fueled by his pure emotions to write another large review. Ink trailed, weaving to craft explicit words about the text and plot.

It was good. Amazing. Frankly, the best outcome. So much so that he almost cried. They were all still his friends. None of them wanted to run away, to do anything terrible. They still hung out at Alphys' place, did their usual thing, and Sans didn't have to worry about wearing his hood. Alphys was still a little awkward, especially when he teleported, but that was to be expected.

Not only that, but Alphys offered an idea to her Mother that was fantastic. Due to her being the Queen, Alphys suggested the idea of funding the children that had managed to escape from Wonderland. Paying for housing and food, ensuring they didn't have to scramble about. Enough for a decent life, and enough so they wouldn't have to stress about what would be for dinner tomorrow. She dubbed it the "Wonderland child act".

Sans' life was turning around. This was good. Sure, not everyone would be fine with a skeleton in town, but Sans was far satisfied with what he had. Sans was even allowed to change his classes at school to one's he wanted, along with Alphys! Well, next year they could, as right now their schedules were set firm. Alphys and Undyne were allowed to date publicly, Sans could walk around town without his hood. Everything was good.

His hood being off was a rather odd feeling. It was reserved for the indoors, feeling the wind against his skull was new. He felt so open, yet so free.

Water lazily dragged below him, but the soft hum was overpowered by the sound of steps. Sans' pen paused in it's movements. Alphys? No, she'd text him first, she always did. Undyne? She'd be sprinting, same with Papyrus. Neither could sit still. Kitty? She could teleport, walking was rather useless.

Sans knew this would eventually come, and he wasn't sure how to feel about this, or how the other would feel. After all, it was a complicated situation. His soul churned from a rush of anxiety and excitement, uncertain.

"Hi Grillby," Sans said quietly, turning to see none other than the fire elemental standing next to him.

Grillby was silent, shifting from foot to foot, a book pressed between his arms. Sans' book.

"Hi Sans," Grillby said, "Um... it's nice to see your face. You look nice."

"Oh, uh... thanks. That's the first time anyone's ever complimented my looks," Sans mumbled.

Grillby sat down next to Sans, no doubt noticing the several notes Sans had been making in his own book. Sans knew Grillby probably wasn't going to be mad, but still, his soul ached with anxiety for what was about to happen. His breath kept itself short. He knew, logically, that Grillby was going to thank him, but his natural defenses had him on alert for any insult nevertheless.

"I took the day off today, went for a walk," Grillby said, "Smoked a bit, even reread the book and it's notes. I figured I'd come back here to see if you hung out by the river."

"I like to sit in the tree," Sans admitted, "But under it is cool too. Guess you were right on the money there."

Grillby nodded slowly. "Here's your book back, Sans."

He slowly handed it over, which Sans accepted with a small "Thanks". There wasn't much to be said.

Checking inside, he saw his notes were untouched. Good. At least he could finish the second half of the story and his notes now.

"So, you are the one who..." Grillby trailed off, glancing over at Sans with a soft spoken tone. His face looked rather odd, contorted between relief and a sad look. To think the person he's been trying to find this entire time was the guy who he least expected.

"Yes," Sans admitted, "I'm the one who saved you. I was up in the tree when you fell in." Sans gestured to the tree when he talked about it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Grillby asked.

"I couldn't exactly let the rumors be proven true, could I? You saw what happened to the school, I didn't want to let any of that out."

Without warning, Grillby suddenly engulfed him into a hug. "I could have kept it a secret. But... seriously, thank you. I've been meaning to say that for weeks. I owe you my life."

"Nah, you don't, it's fine," Sans said, patting his back awkwardly. "Don't feel like you owe me anything, you're a good guy, and I don't want to be thrown into the spotlight."

"No, I mean it, thank you for everything," Grillby said. He squeezed Sans tighter. "You've done a lot for me, and I can't even begin to say how important you've become to me. Can you at least let me make you dinner?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Sans asked.

"I already bought the meat. You have to come over for dinner."

Sans snorted, but nevertheless joined Grillby as they both stood up once the embrace was over.

"Okay, okay, you win," He said, "After this we call it even?"

"Not even close," Grillby said. 


	22. Chapter 22

Adjusting was… new. Exciting, refreshing. But, nevertheless, a challenge. Some people were still scared that Sans was a skeleton, but since he had already proven that he could attend the school without causing harm or bringing damage, that eased their trust slightly. The kicker, though, was Snow Whites word. When she declared Sans was safe, that was the final say. Everyone listened to Snow White.

It wasn’t perfect, but this situation was more than Sans could ever ask for. Sans could openly go into public without a hood. People didn’t scream when they saw him! That within itself was a nice deal, but everything he had was amazing. Friends. Family.

Everything he wished for.

Once again, far from perfect, but the best outcome. Some people were a little iffy, but Snow White spoke, so it was set. Sans was not considered a threat to society and was free to explore any destiny he pleased, whether it be an existing one or a new one he created himself.

A cigarette, unlit, hung between his teeth. Now that he was officially allowed to go out and about, Sans was able to get a smoking license. Mainly to participate with Grillby, get an activity for just them to do. Best to keep the smoke away from their other friends, though, since it could give them health problems down the line.

Grillby was definitely happy about finding the boy who saved his life. Sans never was used to praise, but now he heard it almost daily. He knew it was Grillby’s underlying need to pay him back for saving his life, so that did dampen it a bit. If Sans had to guess where Grillby got that from, the answer would be his parents. They always insisted to pay back others, to treat others with the upmost hospitality when they were a guest or did a good deed.

The behavior change was obvious. Sans managed to wiggle it down to something more easy, since he found himself feeling guilty whenever Grillby tried to repay him. Now, they agreed on simple lunches. Grillby cooked and brought Sans in lunch. A good arrangement, one that worked for both of them. Sans got free lunches, and Grilby felt like he was repaying Sans. They would still remain friends, obviously.

Now that the barrier that separated Sans and his friends was removed, their relationship dynamic shifted. Sans could openly express his love for books, and even shared a few poems he wrote with the others. Everyone was so open, properly able to express themselves. Undyne and Alphys could publicly cuddle. It was amazing.

“... And someone egged my locker again,” Sans sighed, looking at his locker.

Mostly amazing.

While Snow White’s words were quite firm, not all people listened to her. After all, there were still a few evil students in attendance that were happy to follow their destinies, and a few snippy royals who had the money to convince someone to try and bully Sans.

He mindlessly flicked away some egg yolks from his lock, twisting his combination into it. Magic was prepared, and with a swish of his hand, the yolks cleared right off into the nearby garbage can.

“Wow, you’re good with your magic,” Grillby said.

“Oh, not really, I’m just good at cleaning specific things from the amount of practice I had,” Sans explained, “Eggs, toilet paper, writing, broken windows… that stuff.”

It was true. The only way Sans really got to practice on his magic was through dealing with the issues in his childhood. He was extremely good at cleaning up eggs and healing injuries, but not so much using fighting magic. Training was an option now, but the thought of becoming powerful was frightening. He’d be one step closer to his destiny, and Sans wanted to take as few steps as he could.

“Oh wow, smoking in school,” Mettaton muttered as he walked past, “Looks like you are following your destiny.”

“It’s unlit -”

Without bothering to even give Sans a chance to reply, he shoved past, walking on with his unusual scowl. Papyrus followed, having been trying to keep their conversation going. It was a fruitless effort, as Mettaton walked on without even noticing the humans attempt.

“OKAY THEN, METTATON,” Papyrus said, waving his hand, “WE’LL TALK LATER!”

Sans pulled the cigarette out from between his teeth and sighed, tossing it into the nearby trashcan where the eggs went. Honestly, Sans couldn’t blame Mettaton for all of this. Not only did he discover his lifelong enemy would not be partaking in their shared destiny, he lost his future life and happily ever after. The comfortable, famous life he’s been told he’d have for years was just demolished around him. Destroyed in a series of events. Poor Mettaton was still adjusting to that, so Sans couldn’t blame him for lashing out, really. So he sucked up the insult and gave his own wave, understanding that the robot was going through a tough time.

“Rough morning?” Grillby asked Papyrus.

“HE SEEMS PRETTY UPSET,” Papyrus said, clutching his books closer to his chest. “I’VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP HIM, THOUGH IT HASN”T BEEN WORKING MUCH.”

“I think he just needs time to cope,” Sans said, twirling his tail around behind his body. “It looked like he was talking to you just fine before he saw me, so I’ll give him some space.”

“Not everyone is so open to a sudden change, especially when they were happy with their old destiny,” Grillby said.

“IS UNDYNE AND ALPHYS NEARBY?” Papyrus asked, “OR ARE WE MEETING THEM AT LUNCH?”

“Meeting them at lunch,” Sans said, winking at him. “So, ya wanna carry me there?”

“SANS, NO, STOP BEING LAZY! YOU NEED TO EXERCISE.” Papyrus lightly flicked his shoulder.

“Aw, c’mon,” Sans said, outstretching his arms. “Be a bro and carry a lazy guy around.”

“NO!”

“Yes.”

“NO!”

“Here, let me do it.”

Before Sans could reply, Grillby was suddenly wrapping his arms under Sans and lifting him up, a little faster than both anticipated, causing Sans to stutter from surprise. Grillby stared, wide eyed, at the realization.

“Holy crap, you’re so light and tiny,” Grillby said.

Sans made a squeak of surprise, ears tilting against his skull as a blush spread throughout his face. Grillby sputtered on his words when he processed what words had left his own mouth, quickly putting him back down.

“I - Okay, yeah, let’s… lunch.” He pointed awkwardly towards the back door of the school, averting his gaze from Sans and the large, knowing grin on Papyrus’ face. “Let’s go.”

~~~~~~

“I find it weird that you’d just drop all of your friends,” Undyne said, “I mean, I get it, but still.”

Kitty shook her head, her lavender curls bouncing with the movement. Her tail brushed inside of the grass, moving back and forth like a snake.

“I figured it wouldn’t last forever, but I don’t want friends that insult someone I care about,” Kitty said, “And, if that wasn’t enough, one of them called me a half skeleton freak. So I think I made the right choice.”

“Hey, you’re one of us now! Our group grows,” Alphys said, wiggling her fingers at her.

“Heh, yeah,” Kitty said. She turned away, her wide smile softening. “I figured I’d eventually be joining this group after my brother told me about it. But now, I have to wonder, since we’ve kinda opened up the door to picking our own destinies… What are all of you doing?”

Everyone paused, pondering over the question. Papyrus, however, answered rather quickly.

“I WOULD WANT TO HELP PEOPLE! LIKE MY DESTINY, BUT ON MY OWN. WITH MY OWN TERMS!” Papyrus tapped his chest a few times. “I THINK THAT WOULD BE NICE.”

“That’d suit you,” Sans said.

“I obviously don’t want to be Queen, I don’t like being a leader,” Alphys said, “But… I like science. It’d be kinda cool to do something with that. Sometimes I helped Mettaton with his robot body, and that was really fun, so I’d like to do that.”

“I’d just like to live with Alphys,” Undyne said, “I like hunting and stuff, and I was going to do that anyway, since my original destiny was pretty short.” She wrapped an arm around Alphys’ shoulders. “But we’re going to keep a hot tub.”

“Yup,” Alphys said.

“I think I’d like to do what my future already intended,” Grillby said, “Maybe kill the giant if they are evil, I guess, but my parents said I could run their bar after they retire, and I’ve always wanted to follow them in that. I’ve been cooking since I could walk and it’s something I really do love. Running a simple and small bar, coming home afterwards and snuggling up under a blanket with a good show or book; a simple life would be nice.”

“Then I’d sneak in through the back window and steal your entire fridge,” Sans said, winking at him.

“I’d probably let you,” Grillby said, snorting.

“I’d be sneaking in with him,” Alphys said.

Undyne let out an annoyed huff. “No! You’re supposed to steal my food!”

“I wouldn’t be stealing your food if we’re married, it’d be my food too.”

“Then I’ll divorce you so you could steal my food, as an act of love.”

“HOW IS DIVORCING HER AN ACT OF LOVE?” Papyrus asked.

The fish monster stuck out her tongue at the human and hugged Alphys close. Papyrus stuck his tongue out back, petting his usual animal on his lap. Today, it was a little squirrel.

“What about you, Kitty?” Grillby asked, looking at her. “Do you still want to follow your destiny?”

Her grin stretched as she tilted her head. “Of course, our Mom is freaking awesome! I love my destiny, I get to play pranks all day, it sounds amazing.”

“I don’t mean to be mean, and i-if I am intruding, you can tell me!” Alphys said quickly, “But… What was your Mom like?”

“Well, before the curse, we hung out all the time.” Sans said, leaning on his knees. “She was the best Mom I could’a asked for. She took care of me and Kitty, fed us, hid us, played with us… I miss her. It’d be cool if the curse was lifted, but, you know, that probably won’t be happening anytime soon.” He and Kitty shared a glance. “It’d be nice to go back home.”

The curse of Wonderland. The one last “f*ck you, Sans” the Evil King gave to his son. Wonderland within itself was always strange, but there was a pleasant strange that rang throughout it. It was funny, random, nothing made sense, but when the sky randomly turned a different color, and the air grew cold, it became rather clear what had happened. It was the act that got the Evil King caught, but it was a curse like no other.

A curse of separation.

By tearing Wonderland’s connection from the real world, it would become suspended in time and space. Neither world could interact again, torn from one another. And Wonderland was the world that suffered the fate of the curse. There was several worlds out there, and while earth could travel to them, Wonderland was forever closed off from any world. Sans and Kitty could never travel back home again, never see their Mother, unless the curse was lifted. Maybe one day, but he doubted it. The Evil King wouldn’t lift the curse.

_“Mom?”_

_The sky churned, growing darker with a dark shade of purple. It twisted, harshly battering around clouds as it grew. The ground started to shake, rumbling out across the constantly changing land._

_“Get in!”_

_The Cheshire cat threw open the top of a box, waving aside flying teapots before her magic sparked. She pulled out a familiar looking device. It gently buzzed with magic, pulling open a portal to earth. It lightly held in the air, weakened by the several uses in the past._

_“Mom, what’s going on?” Sans asked. He clutched onto his sister tightly, eyelights focusing on the growing storm outside._

_“Just go, you both stick together,” She said, ushering her two children forward. “You two remember where our earth house is, right?”_

_“Yeah,” Kitty said._

_“Good. Stick together, protect one another. I’m going to trust you two with this.”_

_“What about you?” Sans asked._

_She softly smiled. “I’ll be right behind you.”_

“You guys probably would have liked her,” Kitty said, “She was really daring, and a good Mom.”

“Okay, this is going to be real picky, and no offense to you, Sans,” Undyne said, “But why the hell would she hook up with the Evil King?”

“No offense taken,” Sans said, “But she liked the risk that came behind it. I think it was in her diary.”

“I HAVE MY OWN DIARY AS WELL!” Papyrus said, clapping his hands together. “DOES SHE DECORATE HERS?”  
  


“If you guys want, we could go find it,” Sans said, “After school, we could go hunt down the well where we hid it.”

Cheshire’s weren’t people to share family secrets, so he and Kitty wouldn’t share the entire diary, for rather obvious reasons. They could simply find the two paragraphs about Sans’ Father and share with their friends.

“Uh… about that…” Kitty said quietly, ducking her ears together.

~~~~~~

“It’s right there.”

Sans looked at the clearing his sister had led him to, crossing his arms at the sight. Indeed, under the soft afternoon sunlight, there was a well. It was built from plain grey bricks, with vines creeping along the side and disappearing into the depths below. There was nothing extraordinary about it, the appearance of it was but that of a simple, abandoned well.

“It did disappear when I dropped the book in,” Kitty objected.

“I’m not saying your lying, I’m just pointing out how odd it is that the well disappeared last time you were here, but is here again,” Sans said, pressing a hand against his cheek.

“It could be a time spell, where it disappears at a certain time and reappears,” Alphys said, “Or maybe putting something into it activated some old magic.”

“IT’S EXTREMELY DEEP,” Papyrus said, leaning over the edge to peer inside. “TOO DEEP TO SEE INTO. IF THERE’S WATER DOWN THERE THE BOOK IS RUINED.”

“No, it was allergic to peppermint,” Kitty said, “Water wouldn’t ruin it.”

Everyone glanced over, confused.

“It’s a Wonderland thing,” Sans said, “Hardcover books made in Wonderland are allergic to peppermint, they can breath underwater. You can’t ruin the pages by water or burn them, you need peppermint.”

“Is… Is that an actual thing?” Alphys asked.

“I once was reading a book and set down a peppermint candy onto it,” Sans said, “And it exploded.”

“Holy sh*t, that’s so cool! Exploding books?” Undyne said, pumping her fists. “Wonderland sounds awesome!”

“IT’S STILL TOO FAR DOWN FOR ANY OF US TO GET,” Papyrus said, pulling away. “WE’LL NEED A ROPE OR SOMETHING.”

“My parents have a lot of climbing rope, you know, because of my old destiny,” Grillby said, “I could ask my Mother to bring us a few sets to climb down the well. My parents might be busy, though. It’s a Friday night, the bar is usually packed Fridays.”

Sans glanced over at his house, or, the direction of his house, as he couldn’t see it from where he was. Other than Undyne storming in and making him scream like a girl, none of his friends really had the chance to be inside of his house. And he’s only ever had a few sleepovers at their houses.

Crap, now he was extremely excited about having a sleepover. What is they couldn’t? What if they -

“Why don’t you guys just have a sleepover,” Kitty said, glancing over at them. “It’d be really fun, and when Grillby’s Mom brings the ropes we could go grab the book in the morning.”

“I’m down,” Undyne said, “It’d be the first time I’ve broken into somewhere and wasn’t banned, so hell yeah I’m down.”

“I’ll have to tell my Mom, but she’s been clearing up my schedule of some of the classes I don’t need anymore,” Alphys said, pulling out her mirror.

“I’d like that,” Grillby said, “And… I just have to ask, can we please not use my head to make smores this time?”

“No.” Everyone said at once.


	23. Chapter 23

“Hey.”

The moonlight, soft and reflective, cut through the open window of Kitty’s bedroom. The girls had stationed themselves inside of her room for the surprise sleepover, wearing the clothes they were earlier, and using their fingers as toothbrushes. Alphys could have had a servant bring one over, but this was her first chance for a genuine teenage sleepover, so she continued the night without any requests for items. Undyne drooled on the carpet floor freely, a hand thrown over Alphys’ stomach. Alphys turned, still awake, to look at Kitty at the prompt.

“Wanna talk? Outside?” She asked, gesturing towards the door.

And that’s how Alphys found her and Kitty on the porch, drinks in hands. Alphys curled her own tail gently, finding herself jealous of the fur Kitty and Sans had. She wanted her own fur. It’d be much easier to keep warm with it.

“So,” Kitty started, “You know I’m the older one. You know that.”

“Yeah?”

“That’s the thing about older siblings. Not all of them, but when things get tough, some of us protect the others through thick and thin. I’ve always done that, and if Sans had a younger brother or sister, he’d do the same. That’s why I’ve always been cautious about you guys being his friend. It’s worrying, to know that just looking like a skeleton can get him hurt.”

“Is this about earlier?” Alphys asked.

“Yes. You saw me looking.”

Alphys glanced away. Sans had used his magic earlier, just to float something. That was it. Yet, when Alphys saw his eye flair with magic, something he’s done before, it just… She flinched away from him. She’s seen him use magic with his hood, and it never bothered her before.

“I’m sorry, I know, but at least Sans didn’t see it,” Alphys said.

“Yeah, thank god,” Kitty said, “His self esteem has been picking up, that would have ruined it. You seemed to react just fine when you originally found out. What changed?”

Alphys sighed. “It’s not that I don’t trust him, I do! I’ve been friends with Sans for a long time, he’s my first friend, I know him! But I guess… I’ve been told all my life that my enemy is a skeleton, that a skeleton doesn’t know empathy, they they are pure evil…” Alphys looked back over at Kitty. “And I know logically that Sans isn’t like that. That it’s just an old legend, like our stories. Just… I guess I’m still not over the surprise, even after all this time. I thought I was.”

“What about Sans using his magic scares you?”

“I don’t know, that’s the problem. I just saw his eye socket light up and for a moment I just… was scared. I don’t - Nothing makes sense. I hate emotions.”

“Emotions are confusing and powerful.” Kitty leaned back, staring at the stars between her fingers. “Trust me, I know. They can make or break a spell, ruin or save a Princess. I’m not going to blame you for your upbringing, I won’t, but I will blame you for your response to that. It’s going to be difficult, but you at least had the chance to get to know Sans before you knew, right? That should help.”

Alphys nodded. It was still kind of hard to get used to. Just knowing that her best friend was… supposed to be her enemy. No one could fully cope with that. Alphys knew, at first, that Sans logically wasn’t doing anything wrong. She can tell a fake smile, no matter the person. He never once faked it when telling her she was his friend. It was genuine.

“How powerful is Sans?” Alphys asked, “Could he even hurt or poison me?”

“Ha, no.” Kitty almost snorted. “He’s not really strong. We never got the chance to help train him much, he only knows basic stuff. He doesn’t even know any poisoning spells. He knows how to summon a few bones, some telekinesis, teleporting, and cleaning, but not much else. One time he summoned this big dog looking attack, but that was when he was - nevermind. I’d rather not think about that situation.”

The Princess glanced away. “Oh.”

“That’s the problem with those things your told. We have to get rid of those ideas, it’s hurt us, and it’s almost killed Sans before. He only managed to summon that attack because he was on the verge of death, and we haven’t figured out how to do it since. I don’t think Sans is even knows how he did that himself.”

Kitty threw her arms back, slowly spinning on her toes to enjoy the fresh outdoor air. Alphys nodded to no one but herself. Logic didn’t always control fear. She knew some people that were terrified of simple things. After years of being told that a skeleton with magic would be her end, of course her body still retained that fear. She didn’t even realize she was afraid until she had already flinched.

God, she felt terrible.

“Don’t look like that,” Kitty said.

Alphys glanced over. “Why shouldn't I? You and I both know I shouldn’t react that way.”

“It’s… a complicated situation, I guess. That’s the thing about Cheshires, that we’re always walking the balance of grey between good and evil. Of course, we lean more towards good, but there’s always going to be grey in our lives. If I had to say, that’s what’s happening to you right now. I’m always going to protect Sans first, so that’s why I immediately jumped onto the train to call you out, but really - look around, you live in a world dominated by royals and what they say. So if you were told, all of your life, that skeletons are bad, it’d make sense that you’d still flinch away. Like I said before, I won’t blame you for your upbringing, but I will blame you for your response to it. Just work on it, okay?”

“Okay,” Alphys said, “And can you not do the weird jumbled explanation of black and white and grey? It sounded kinda like a riddle.”

“Nah, it’s what Cheshires do.”

The lizard snapped a finger towards Kitty. “I actually meant to ask about that. Sans talks a lot about choosing his destiny, and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this, but some royals have been asking why he’s being a hypocrite. In a way, since he always said he’s a Cheshire and not an Evil King. I know what you both mean, but I know I have to defend him, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

“That’s simple. He wants the destiny of a Cheshire. He shouldn’t be forced to what family legacy he wants to uphold, he should be allowed to choose one, both, or neither on his own terms. Or one he isn’t related to. Or one that never existed before. Basically… We don’t want the book to exist. I think it’s dumb, sealing your soul to a destiny you can’t deviate from.”

Alphys nodded, smiling softly towards the sky. “Thanks. For this talk, and for watching out for all of us. It’ll give me something to think about.”

“Sure thing,” Kitty said.

~~~~~~

Sans gently stretched from his position on a shelf, curling his tail and arching his back. The thing about being a short Cheshire was that he could sleep anywhere high off the ground. In branches, shelves, anything on a ledge. So Sans stationed himself onto one of the shelves in his room, with Papyrus on the bed and Grillby on the floor.

He was hungry. The girls had woken him up a little bit ago, he heard them moving about, and now he was awake, alert, and hungry.

“Darn it,” Sans whispered, glancing at his snack bowl. Empty.

So, he gently climbed out from his spot, folding away his blanket before he landed onto the carpet. Almost in complete silence.

Yet, despite how darn careful he was, Grillby still lightly mumbled to himself, leaning up onto his wrist and wiping at his sleepy, drooping eyes.

“Hm?” He grumbled.

A fact he learned about Grillby during their previous sleepovers was that he was an extremely light sleeper. It didn’t take long for him to go back to sleep, thankfully, but he could be startled awake by so much as a pin dropping.

“It’s just me, I’m grabbing a snack,” Sans said, shuffling to the door, “Go back to sleep.”

“No, we agreed… I’d cook you things.” Before Sans could object, Grillby was sitting up, now firmly waking himself up. “I’ll make you something.”

“Grillbs, no, it’s one in the morning,” Sans whispered.

His argument came too late, as Grillby stood, fully awake and ready to go. He shook his head lightly, then stepped over his bundle of blankets to reach Sans.

“Yer don’t gotta do this, Grillby,” Sans said.

“No, I have to.” The fire elemental stopped at the door, pushing it open. “I really do.”

And now they were in the kitchen.

Grillby grumbled lightly as he pulled open Sans’ fridge, his tone of disappointment. “Nothing’s even homemade. It’s all fast food.”

“It’s called we’re broke,” Sans said, leaning against the counter. “And uh… what did ya mean by the thing you said? That you have to?”

The fire elemental pushed aside their fast food containers, instead reaching for the small amount of groceries in the back. “It’s… you know how my parents always taught me to treat people well? It’s that mindset. You saved my life, I have to repay you. This is the least I can do. And I feel like I should be doing more.”

Sans couldn’t really blame him. If someone saved his life, and he never got the chance to thank them, he’d be going crazy with guilt.

“I’m sorry about not telling you, I didn’t mean to make you get bullied,” Sans said, rolling his tail around on the counter behind him.

“It’s fine, I’m just glad it came out.” Grillby set down some eggs, pulling out a pan and sticking his hand flush against the bottom of it. “And I’m just glad to have friends. I don’t mind being a little less popular than others.”

His cooking skills were unmatched by anyone else. Grillby cracked two eggs with just one hand, effectively not getting a single piece of the shell onto the pan in only a second flat. Instead of holding the pan by the handle, he held it by the bottom, letting his own flames build to act as the heat. Soon, the eggs sizzled loudly in the pan, being flipped with a fork.

“I seriously don’t mind cooking for you, it’s okay if you and Kitty stop by for dinners,” Grillby said, “You guys don’t even have a pancake turner, no wonder you get takeout everyday.”

“I’m not going to stop by your house for dinnes, you already make me lunch,” Sans said, “And I feel like I’m taking advantage of you, like I’m making you.”

“I volunteered.”

“I mean, I know that, but still. I can’t help but feel guilty.”

Grillby tilted his head towards Sans, looking at his close friend warmly. “Don’t feel guilty. I love to cook, especially for friends. And since I feel guilty over not thanking you before, why don’t we call it even? No guilt whatsoever.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sans grumbled.

They later found themselves on the couch, legs folded, set with low volume on the mirror. Sans pushed aside the remote, glancing down at the soft cushions. He could remember being here, the morning before he met Alphys, telling Kitty he probably wasn’t going to be getting any friends. Yet here he was, sitting with a teenager he’d consider himself close to, eating eggs at one in the morning.

“I’m just glad you’re doing well now,” Sans said, turning towards Grillby with a soft smile. “It’s good to see ya energetic again.”

“What do you mean?” Grillby asked.

“Well, ya know, when we hung out before. You seemed really down about not finding out who saved you. It’s good to see you a little bit happier than before.”

“Yeah,” Grillby laughed softly, “I guess. It’s nice to get that out of the way, not have to worry about anything anymore. The only thing that I really have to be upset about nowadays is that I can’t hug most people.”

That sounded awful, but Sans could understand. Without his clothes, Grillby couldn’t touch most people. That included all of their friends. Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus would get burn marks from touching his bare flames. That would be a problem Grillby would forever have to face. And some people craved physical touching, even if it was just platonic. Monsters were people of emotions, even Sans and Kitty pet each other just to have contact. It wasn’t unusual for friends to have a hand on a shoulder, or sometimes grab hands and hold them. Grillby couldn’t do that.

“Know what, I have an idea,” Sans said, “Take off your shirt.”

Grillby’s flames turned a deep hue of red, no doubt a large blush that spread through the flickering fire. “W-What?”

“Dude, just trust me.”

Sans set aside his plate as Grillby complied, pulling the top of his white t-shirt over his head and onto the couch nearby. Once he was done, Sans pulled up a blanket, scooting closer to Grillby.

“What are you -”

“I’m a skeleton, can’t get burned.” Sans pointed to his face, pulling a blanket over them. Grillby tensed the moment he felt Sans lean his body against his, folding his torso against Grillby’s bare chest. “And friends hug with each other all the time. I do it with Kitty and Alph, and sometimes I’ll plop down onto Paps, so it’d make sense that I’d hug you.”

“I-I…” Grillby hesitantly wrapped his arms around Sans, “... This is the first time I’ve ever hugged anyone. I… thank you. It feels nice.”

Sans chuckled, leaning his head against Grillby’s shoulder. “No problem. You can always ask me if ya need some contact. But I mean, if you also want to pet me, I won’t stop ya.”

“Can we stay like this, for the night?” Grillby asked, hand resting near Sans’ ears, ready to pet him.

“Sure,” Sans said, tucking the blanket up over them.


	24. Chapter 24

Birds chirped around Alphys, fluttering around the teenage female. That was one problem with going into a densely populated forest, filled with animals. Bringing Alphys there was a sure way to guarantee animals following them.

Grillby tightened the rope around his and Sans' waists, finalizing their gear. Just in case it was too slippery. Since Kitty, Sans, and Grillby were the climbers of the group, Sans and Grillby would be going down while Kitty hung out by the top, ready to teleport down for emergencies. Undyne would hold the rope, easily able to hold their combined weight with one hand and no sweat taken.

"Papyrus, your knots are amazing!" Alphys said, pulling at the rope. "It's like practically sealed!"

"NYEH HEH HEH, OF COURSE! I'M VERY CRAFTY!" Papyrus said, pressing a hand against his chest. 

"So we're just looking for a hardcover book, huh," Grillby said.

"Yup," Kitty said, "Doesn't have a title, should be the only book down there. Or else we'll have a problem."

Sans threw a leg over the edge, readying for their journey down there. It was a pretty simple plan. Since Sans was immune to Grillby's fire, Grillby would be acting as the light and Sans would be the one on the bottom in case they hit water. And, if he saw it in the distance, he could use his magic to float it up. On his side was his bag, with his mirror in case they went in too far to yell, easily accessible. Although Alphys didn't believe it, she was pretty smart with strategies.

"Welp, down we go!" Sans said, flicking his flattened hand away from his forehead before he climbed down.

Darkness quickly consumed the duo, Sans leading the trail down the side of the wall as Grillby followed. Soon, the only light source was Grillby's flames, shining brighter in the depths of the void below.

"HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING DOWN THERE?" Papyrus asked, his distant head peaking over the sun from above.

Sans snorted. "Doing fantastic! Talking drama, girl stuff, ya know. Gonna start a band down here!"

"Oh, yeah, we're going to play the banjo and rock your world, Papyrus!" Grillby joined in on Sans' joke, twisting his gaze above.

"YOU GUYS KNOW I HATE THE BANJO! UGH! THEY'RE FINE!" Papyrus shouted, then directed the last part at the friends behind him.

"Seriously, though, how far is this thing?" Grillby then focused the conversation onto Sans, "I couldn't even make out Papyrus' face, and we're still climbing down."

Sans narrowed his eye sockets down into the darkness. He was right. There was no end in sight to behold, just more wall and shadows.

"Hey, I'm going to let go of the wall for a sec, don't climb and just hold me up," Sans said.

Grillby tightened his grip on the wall. "Okay."

With that, Sans let go of the wall, letting his body drop a foot before the rope caught him and suspended him above the well. He then twisted his body upside down, squinting towards the bottom.

~~~~~~

"Purple is cool, but I just dress up to match my hair, really. Do you know how hard it is to find outfits that go with lavender? You have to get a specific color or else it just clashes. That's why my fashion is usually on, because I have to be specific or I look like a lollipop."

Kitty turned one leg over another, clicking on her mirror. Undyne held the rope with both hands, ensuring their friends were held as they climbed down. She occasionally dragged it forward in her hands, giving their rope more room to climb down.

"I'd say my favorite color is red," Alphys said, folding her arms together.

"MINE TOO!" Papyrus squealed.

"Really? Red buddies!" Alphys high fived him.

"I have no favorite color, yikes, I need to get one," Undyne groaned.

Kitty set her mirror next to the rope, thinking. "I think you'd go with more darker colors. Bright colors don't have your skin or hair, since the red and blue are both dominate."

Undyne went to speak, but her sentence dropped, eyes bulging as she stared at the rope. "Fire."

"What?" Alphys asked.

"Fire, the ropes on fire!" Undyne shouted, suddenly yanking at the rope.

Kitty turned, finding a small portion of the rope, between Kitty and her mirror, encompassed in flames. It was as if the rope spontaneously combusted at that exact spot, as no signs of it shown creeping up from within the well, or from where Undyne was. In fact, the flames didn't even look natural, bright purple and burning through it faster than anyone could anticipate.

"FIRE!" Papyrus shouted, "HOW?"

"I have to get them up, now!" Undyne shouted, pulling at the rope.

However, no one was fast enough, as shortly after the moment Undyne tried to pull at it, the rope snapped in half, flames immediately dissipating before the side of the rope close to the well plummeted in. Kitty lunged to grab it, only losing her own balance and effectively falling in after it.

"Kitty!" Alphys shrieked.

~~~~~~

Grillby had let go of the side of the well, the two dangling in the darkness as they tried to look down.

"It looks just as deep as before," Sans said, crossing his arms. "I think we should call it. We're good climbers but there's no way we're climbing all the way down and back up."

"How deep does this even go?" Grillby asked.

"I dunno, apparently to hell," Sans muttered, "Maybe I'll see my Dad down there."

Grillby snorted, chuckling at the skeletons joke. Before he could add, however, their rope suddenly jerked up, pulling them towards the top by a foot or two.

"What?" Grillby asked.

"Is... everything okay up there?" Sans asked.

They stared at each other in a moment of silence before suddenly they were dropping, given no chance to grab at the walls before they fell to their deaths. Both of their surprised screams echoed around the walls, soon joined by distant Kitty's screams as well.

A hand flew out and snatched onto Sans', Grillby suddenly dragging their bodies together through the whirling air surrounding their fall.

"I can't teleport to the top, it's not working!" Sans shouted, ears pressing against his head in doubt.

"It's okay!" Grillby shouted , "I want to tell you something, before we fall to our deaths! I think I have a crush on -"

Sans wasn't certain what he said next, because the next thing he knew...

Darkness.

Sans mumbled lightly, twisting on a blanket of... something. Little snake like feelings tickled up against his bones, emanating a familiar feeling he's felt before. Familiar, distant.

A cough was what stirred him awake, making Sans jolt up. Instead of seeing the top of the well, or seeing some type of afterlife, he saw the tops of trees. The trees unnaturally waved, large, happy faces giggling as they blew in the wind. A patch of grass was colored a thick blue and purple, moving like little worms below him. Chirps, sounding much like a dog who slurred their bark so much, echoed in the distance.

"Gah, you - get off!"

Sans snapped his head towards the right, sitting up from his position. Grillby, who was wrapped in a trunk of a tree, flailed as it was tightened. Sans fully stood, now grinning wildly as he realized exactly where he was.

"Grillby, you have to tickle it!" Sans explained, teleporting next to the tree and ducking a hand into the dark, effectively tickling it. The thing groaned, thick with giggling before Grillby was dropped from it's containment. He plopped down, but seeing that Sans was up and about, quickly pulled himself to his feet.

"Sans, you're awake!" Without even thanking the skeleton, he threw his arms around Sans. "I was so worried! You just passed out in the well!"

They stood for a moment, mostly glad they were both alive as they sat in silence. They didn't die. They were good. They were alive.

"Do you know where we are?" Grillby asked.

Sans drew back, giggling lightly. He couldn't contain his excitement, his pure happiness.

"Home." Sans took a breath of the cotton candy flavored air. "Wonderland."

"We're in - no way!" Grillby looked out, "I mean, it's the only explanation, but still!"

The fire elemental looked around in awe, Sans laughing at his reaction. Wonderland within itself was always unusual, and Sans loved it. Sure, he had a lot of bad memories with the people, but he loved the world. It was the only thing not scared of him when he was younger.

Sans didn't notice Grillby was staring at him, both of them still holding each others arms until he turned back.

"Hey, shut up!" Sans sputtered, blushing.

"No, no, it's cool! You clearly care about this place, it's nice to see you happy." He offered a big smile. "And um, just wondering, did you hear what I said, or did you pass out before?"

"I think I passed out, sorry Grillbs," Sans said.

"Oh thank Toby Fox," Grillby breathed quietly, "It was nothing, don't worry about it."

They sat in silence for a moment, Sans unsure what to do. Gentle whispers of wind curled around them, disappearing into the large forest around them.

"Do ya know why I passed out?" Sans asked. His fingers twisted into the fabric of his hoodie, glancing around with suspicion. "I wasn't hit on the head, and I don't pass out from fear. Did anything happen?"

Thinking for a moment, Grillby didn't add anything until after he took a breath. "No, I didn't see anything. It was just like a switch, you were out."

"Welp, I dunno why I passed out then. That's weird. Maybe it's been so long since I was in a life or death situation and accidently passed out."

"Maybe."

Ignoring that confusion, Sans turned back towards the forest, focusing on the positive in his life. He was in Wonderland! Wonderland! It's been so long! He could - well, he wasn't sure, but he could do something! Did this mean the curse was broken?

He could... Kitty and him could see their Mother again!

The tail on his back swung back and forth with enthusiasm. This was awesome!

"F*ck off!" Undyne's voice, loud and demanding, broke through the air before a tree toppled not too far away.

"Uh oh," Grillby and Sans spoke at the same time.

It wasn't too hard to find the others at all. Alphys was stuck in a tree branch, her brightly colored dress practically making her a target. After that, it was child's play. All they had to do was yell that Alphys needed help before Undyne practically bolted at them from wherever she was before, also knocking down the tree like the previously destroyed one. Kitty found them easily from Undyne's yelling, and they just had to follow the feeling of pure, unquenchable adorableness to find Papyrus. Seriously. His face was too squishable and he was too precious.

Once Kitty and Sans finally managed to get over their excitement of being in Wonderland, they could focus trying to get out of the forest, and explaining some basic Wonderland tips for their friends.

"Everything from our world is different from yours, like, you guys can not use earth logic in Wonderland. Wonderland was different logic altogether." Kitty pressed her hands together, looking over the others. "Not the up is down kind of logic, either. No, this is up is actually the square root of the sun, kind of logic."

"Oh, so the logic Froggit's Dad gives us for those stupid math quizzes," Alphys muttered.

The four of them were sitting on a log in front of the two Cheshire siblings, being taught some valuable lessons in Wonderland. Alphys curled herself away from a nearby inspect, watching it melt into a candy apple with utter confusion.

"SERIOUSLY, WHY DOES HE HAVE TO MAKE THEM SO HARD!" Papyrus said, throwing his hands into the air.

"I just gave up once and started to eat my paper," Undyne said.

"I can't think of many quick pointers, since everything is kind of important," Sans said, crossing his arms. He tapped his foot feverishly. "Don't eat the mushrooms is an obvious one. Don't eat the grass, don't eat - just don't eat anything that isn't directly food. At all."

"Including your math homework," Kitty said to Undyne, snapping her fingers.

"Is there anything dangerous we should know about?" Completely ignoring the joke Kitty threw at her, Undyne wrapped an arm around Alphys' shoulder, pushing her flush against her own body. "I don't want any of us to get hurt. I care about you suckers."

"Aw," Alphys gushed, hugging her arm.

"I'M SO PAINFULLY SINGLE!" Papyrus groaned.

Sans looked around, smiling gently. They were in Wonderland. He couldn't get over how excited he was. Wonderland! Where he grew up! Where Mom was!

But... why? Why did a random well lead to Wonderland? Was the curse recently broken? If it was, then his Mother would have no doubt came running. Clearly it was broken, since they were in Wonderland, so what happened?

Was their Mom okay?

"Sans, what about your face?" Grillby asked, "At our school we had Snow White tell everyone that you were safe. Here we don't."

Alphys coughed. "We have the daughter of Snow White too, candle head."

Grillby went to talk, but turned towards her, asking, "Candle head?"

"I've been teaching Alphys how to be a little more mean since she's always a goodie two shoes!" Undyne explained.

"Was it mean? I feel like it was too mean," Alphys said.

"It wasn't mean, more so that it doesn't make any sense. Grillby is just fire, he's no part candle." Kitty crossed her arms, ears folding against her head.

"CAN WE FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW? AS IN US BEING IN A DIFFERENT DIMENSION?" Papyrus said, "AND SANS, ARE YOU SURE YOU'LL BE FINE WITHOUT YOUR HOOD?"

"When I was here younger, some people knew who I was with or without the hood, so I doubt they've forgotten. If I just keep my hood up, I think I'll be able to pass by a good number of people. And we have Alphys for the others, it should be okay. Hopefully."

To be frank, Sans wasn't sure, really. When he was younger, people picked on him because they knew he wasn't strong yet. Now, they'd more likely be scared of him than anything, since none of them really knew he wasn't following his destiny. It's been awhile since he's even been in Wonderland, so things could have changed.

"It'd be best if you kept your hood up." Kitty dragged Sans' traditional blue hoodie over his skull, patting the top of his head before she drew away. "Now we should -"

"What, hey! You can't just make motions of petting me and not do it!" Sans whined, looking over.

"Revenge for two weeks ago." Kitty stuck out her tongue at him.

Once they settled down some ground information, they decided the best course of action would be to find their way home. And by home, they meant to Kitty and Sans' Wonderland house. To meet their Mom. Sans was giddy as they walked their way out of the Giggling Forest, his grin wide and free. He has friends to show his Mom. Friends who were cool with him being a skeleton! His Mom was going to be so happy! And, of course, he was ecstatic to see his Mom in general. It's been forever!

"DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU HAD AN OLD WONDERLAND FRIEND?" Papyrus asked Sans.

Sans shrugged. "When I was really young, yeah. We'd go by the river and play lots of games. But then their parents found out, freaked out, and they told me we couldn't hang out anymore. Once I glued two circles on my face to look like them, I was real attached. It sucked afterwards."

"Hey, you have us now, nerd!" Undyne said, using her knuckles to scratch the top of his skull.

"The loser group! Where we all are lonely together," Grillby added.

"We're uh... we're at the edge of the forest. We're going to be in the Queen of Hearts territory now," Kitty said quietly, looking down the path into the opening.

Sans froze. Right, yeah. He'd... he'd have to deal with that. With this.

"Is that bad?" Alphys asked.

"He's probably wanted by them, of course it'd be bad," Undyne said.

Grillby stepped up next to Sans, grasping his hand gently in his own. Sans glanced over, ears tilted back.

"I've been trained in fighting. I might not be the best, but you can stick by me if you want." Grillby said gently.

"It's not a good idea to fight the Queen of Hearts, she has an entire army of cards," Sans said, "You'd get your butt kicked."

"I'd get my butt kicked for defending my friend, so it's worth it."

That statement made Sans chuckle. He'd do the same for any of his friends.

"Let's try to avoid any guards, cards, or anything that can get us all beheaded, as much as possible." Kitty said, walking towards the opening. "And let's be as careful as possible. Because -"

Before she could even finish, a weapon jolted out against her back. It stood firm, only inches away of impaling her.

"Halt, by order of the Queen of Hearts!" A voice boomed.

"Oh god d*mn it," Kitty muttered.


	25. Chapter 25

The curse wasn’t gone.

That horrifying fact made Sans and Kitty’s happy attitude from simply being in Wonderland simply vanish into the usual despair the siblings often held. They couldn’t see it through the forest, but once they stepped outside, they saw the true extent of the curse.

Dark purple clouds strained above, distant sparks of magic and lighting flashing throughout the ever growing curse. The sky was practically consumed by the curse, acting as a constant, looming threat over the poor Wonderland population.

One of the key factors Kitty and Sans forgot about their hometown was that they lived under the Queen of Hearts rule. And by that, in turn, meant that her land was constantly guarded by her cards, giving people outside no chance to enter or leave without meeting one. Sans and Kitty only went to the Giggling Forest once when they were younger, their Mom took them for a little camping trip. Both times they had to teleport past the guards.

Kitty and Sans could still teleport out no problem, but they couldn’t teleport out their friends. They complied with the card guards, letting themselves get loaded into a truck without much fight. Undyne was ready to fight them head on, but Sans and Kitty were quick to help her back down.

Wonderland was different in many areas, and that included the army.

The Hearts army wasn’t made of real people. No, instead it was made by one card, that could duplicate an infinite amount of times. The original card was likely long past dead, but the Queen only ever would need to send one of her many cards out for them to duplicate. Basically, her army consisted of a never ending stream of soldiers, who couldn’t do anything but serve the Heart family.

The curse wasn’t gone.

So how did they even get into Wonderland?

That was the most troubling aspect of this whole situation, the thing Sans found himself pondering over, time and time again. They all went down a well and ended up here. The curse should have cut off all modes of transportation, right?

Why were they there? It wasn’t any part of their destinies, only Kitty’s, and she had yet to sign the book. That only brought the situation closer to confusion after Undyne told them the rope had caught fire. Something that shouldn’t have happened. They weren’t even Grillby’s flames, apparently they had been purple. He did say he had a cousin with purple flames, but she had been on vacation. And why would she try to kill Sans and Grillby?

Sans didn’t expect his hood to last, and naturally it didn’t. It was only a plan his Mother made for their time on earth, not for Wonderland. In Wonderland, a lot of people knew who he was. Being a skeleton wasn’t something people often forgot, especially with his destiny in mind.

“They’re not going to behead us or anything, right?” Alphys asked. Noticing the lack of response, her tail moved worriedly behind her. “Right?”

They had been hauled off from the truck at this point, brought before the vast castle before them. It easily rivaled Alphys’ and the schools, as the Queen of Hearts always went out with her interior design. Hearts littered every surface, the theme of the heart suit from a deck of cards glaringly obvious.

Sans twisted at the bonds behind his back. It’s been awhile since he’s seen the Queen. And since he’s seen… her child. The next Ruler of Hearts.

“You okay?” Kitty asked him.

“Fine,” Sans muttered.

Behind them, the truck was continuously unloaded, the cages of captured snails slowly being carried towards a different door, no doubt intended to lead to the kitchen.

“We probably won’t be beheaded,” Kitty finally answered Alphys, “Probably.”

He dragged his gaze around the fancy interior. Just like before. Nothings changed since he last was here. He could even see the place where him and his old friend once played tag.

One of the guards pulled at Alphys a little too roughly, causing the small lizard to cry out from pain at her rope scraping against her wrists.

“Watch it!” Undyne snarled to the card, giving the meanest look she could muster.

“Where are you guys taking us?” Sans directed towards his own three cards, hunching his shoulders forward to help the burden of walking them forward. 

“To an audience with her Majesty. She’s finished up with a curious intruder awhile go, so she wants to deal with you.”

Sans sighed. “Great.”

He and the Queen knew each other, and when they last left off, they didn’t end on a good note. Basically, she threatened to hang his skull on her wall if he ever stepped foot on her castle grounds again. She then promptly ordered her card guards to throw him into the moat. Sans had spent the rest of the day, as a little boy, crying his eye sockets out while trying to get the green goo out of his clothes. Safe to say his Mother was p*ssed.

The two Cheshire siblings winced when the throne door came into view. This wasn’t going to go well, at all.

“Here we go,” Kitty mumbled under her breath.

The doors peeled open in front of them.

~~~~~~

_Long and firm tears gently trailed under his eye socket, catching the shed tears and wiping them away. Sans choked on a sob, sniffling as he went to push away his Mothers hands._

_“‘M fine,” Sans muttered, voice weakened from his sobbing. “I’m really fine, Mommy.”_

_The woman crouched down in front of him, looking down at her son worriedly. Large, green blobs of goo coated his outfit, some of it dripping from his bones and onto the toilet._

_“No, you’re not.” Her fingers continued, prodding underneath his eye socket. “You don’t have to lie about your feelings to me, it’s okay, sweetie. You’re hurt. You don’t have to act tough.”_

_“But I don’ wanna be a burden, I don’ wanna make you work for me.” Sans sniffed again, shoulders heaving from the pain of being ruthlessly thrown into a river._

_“And you aren’t one. You never will be.” Mrs. Cheshire drew him in for a hug, ignoring how his dirtier outfit stained her own. She ran a hand down his skull, tender and careful. “I’m sorry, this is my fault. I should have seen this coming. I failed to warn you about your friend.”_

_“I thought we… we…” Sans leaned forward on a sob again, bones rattling._

_“Aw, come here sweetie.” His Mother gently lifted him from the toilet lid, pulling him against her chest. The child curled against her, crying into her shoulder. “I’m sorry about your friend. I’ll protect you and your sister, I promise.”_

~~~~~~

“All bow for the Queen of Hearts, Queen Toriel, and her husband, King Asgore.” The frog monster in front of them croaked, extending an arm towards the King and Queen.

One of the few similarities Wonderland had with earth was that the status of Royalty stayed about the same. The child that held the destiny of royalty would become ruler, and whoever they married wouldn’t hold any power. It was how Snow White ruled everything on earth, and it was why Queen Toriel was the ruler of Wonderland, despite the two having Kings by their sides.

She sat in front of them, one leg crossed over the other with a look of stern detachment emanating across her face. Her gown was thick and bustling with ruffles, heels long and her curvy form tightly wrapped under layers and layers of eloquent red and black. Asgore sat besides her, forehead leaned forward towards his lap. Even the King was terrified of the Queen, and rightfully so. Only the Queen of Hearts could give an order for someone’s head, either her or the eldest child. No one else had any hint of authority within the land. She'd never kill him, of course, but she was stern and ruthless at times. She had to be, for Wonderland. The world required a stern leader, it was her destiny.

“Ah, Sans, Kitty. Hello.” Her fingers stretched, the woman turning her claws towards her to observe the red nail polish.

“The Queen of Hearts, it’s an honor to see you again,” Kitty forced out.

Sans, finally mustering up some courage, tore his gaze to the third throne for the child of Toriel and Asgore, the next Ruler of Hearts.

Empty.

“Hi,” Sans finally spoke.

“If you’re wondering, they aren’t here. They’ve been busy with their studies,” Asgore said when he noticed Sans’ gaze. “Both of them.”

Right, they had a younger brother. Sans forgot about that. He only met Asriel once, so he hadn’t really gotten the chance to properly get used to them before he was immediately thrown out and forbidden from ever being their siblings friend again.

Sans wasn’t exactly sure if he was happy they were gone or not. Did they even have the guts to face him after they joined their Mother in casting him out? Or was he simply not worth the breath? Then again, he was also kind of glad they weren’t there. It wouldn’t be awkward.

What would he even say to them, if he saw them again? Honestly, ever since Sans found his new friends, he realized… he didn’t need to worry about them anymore. He used to cry nightly over them, and thought they would be his only ever friend. That’s why he was so scared about being close to Alphys. He was the son of the Evil King. Friends wasn’t an option.

That’s what he assumed before. But now, surrounded by his friends, all supportive of him, he knew that to be false.

“I guess you managed to find a way to bypass the curse,” Toriel said, “Tell me how.”

“I... um…” Sans said. He didn’t find a way, he fell into it.

“Ma’am, if I may say -”

“Silence.” Toriel was ruthless to Grillby, sticking out a hand and waving it towards him. “You aren’t my people, so I couldn’t care less about you. What I want is how to break the curse. Tell me how.”

“We fell into a well,” Sans said.

He knew the Queen of Hearts, while she had some personal history with him, never meant harm for earth or any other dimension. There was no need to lie to her. If it wasn’t for his destiny, he knew she probably would have treated him better.

She wasn’t a perfect Queen, but she did rule Wonderland pretty decently. He just wished he wasn’t marked as evil just because of his species.

Toriel chuckled at his response, leaning against her hand. “Of course. Why did I expect anything different from the son of the Evil King. Guards.” She snapped her fingers. “Put them into the dungeon. If he doesn’t tell the truth to how he managed to bypass his Father’s curse, it’s off with his head.”

Sans felt his soul drop.

“Wait, I’m telling the truth!” Sans said.

“He is you furry a*shole!” Undye shouted, struggling against the guards hold.

Toriel didn’t care, waving them off. Of course she didn’t believe him. Of course. Because Sans’ life naturally had to make things difficult.

Without given a chance, the group of people were dragged away, most of them arguing with her and trying to understand they were, in fact, telling the truth. Yet she remained indifferent, and allowed them to disappear down the hall.

~~~~~~

Scribbling echoed throughout the library. A person, wearing a red and black gown, was bent over a desk, writing down silently in the company of no one. Moments later, the entrance to the library creaked open, a card leaning inside.

“Madam,” They spoke.

“Not right now,” They said, pencil not stopping in its journey, “I’m not feeling any specific gender.”

“My mistake, I apologize,” The guard went to bow. “But there’s been new arrivals within the castle.”

“Is it Frisk again?” They tapped a finger against the desk, unimpressed. “You and I know Frisk loves to explore. I assumed they came earlier today, I heard my Mother yelling.”

“My ruler, they did arrive earlier today. It’s not Frisk who’s here then. It’s people from earth.”

Earth, huh? The next destined Ruler waved their hand. “That doesn’t interest me. I’ve never had any intentions of going to earth, my future is here.”

“No, your Majesty… it’s the son of the Evil King.”

The pencil finally stopped it’s scribbling, dropping flatly against the paper. The next Ruler of Wonderland turned, looking at the card soldier with wide red eyes.

“Sans?” They whispered. “He’s here?”


	26. Chapter 26

Sans felt his tail curl around his pelvis nervously, watching everyone else get hauled down into further cells. If they hadn’t been associated with him, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Sometimes Sans wanted to curl into a ball and scream.

This wasn’t fair! Why did everyone always assume he was lying? Sans wasn’t! He wasn’t even sure how they got in Wonderland in the first place, how some well could lead into the depths of Wonderland.

“At least she didn’t threaten to execute you guys,” Sans told Alphys, running a hand over his skull.

Alphys nodded in agreement. “I thought the Queen of Hearts was a terrible person, how come she isn’t executing us?”

Their cell was cold and damp, as one expected. Moss clung to a corner, the smell lingering in the air. Not the best place to be, especially since their friends were separated.

“She seems that way to other people to ensure Wonderland isn’t invaded. Since Wonderland has a lot of valuable things that could be used for evil. If anyone got ahold on our mushrooms and drugged a mass food provider in any other world, that can’t detect Wonderland drugs, it’d be chaos. Not to mention how many resources we have here. Queen Toriel only really goes out of her way to make sure her people are safe, so I can’t even blame her for any of this. She doesn’t kill innocent people, so she won’t be killing you guys. She only hates me because, ya know… my face.”

That was one thing, no matter where Sans went, would never fully change. The problem with skeletons. And honestly, he couldn’t blame anyone, either. As easy as it would be to hate everyone who thought he was evil, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. They were taught that destinies were everything, and this was the first time someone from Sans’ family would break through the cycle. Not to mention, he hated his Dad as well. The enemy of his enemy was a friend.

“Queen Toriel has a Wonderland style of ruling, so it probably won’t make sense to some people, but you need a certain type of ruler for Wonderland. Your Mom is a great Queen on earth, Alph, but she wouldn’t work in Wonderland.”

Sans wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about Queen Toriel. If he wasn’t a skeleton, he would have probably liked her. She was a decent ruler. But their history didn’t let Sans just overlook what had happened, and he certainly wouldn’t be all dandy with her if she threatened his friends.

If it wasn’t for destinies, things would be so much easier. Yet, destinies remained, so he’d have to adapt.

Alphys moved to sit down, ignoring the way a puddle of water soaked her expensive gown. After moving her hand against the floor, she suddenly winced, prying it away.

“You okay?” Sans asked.

The small lizard brought up her hands, marked with the burn of a rope. “They tied me up too much, it left some marks… ow…”

The skin didn’t look good. It looked red, likely going to leave it stinging for at least a day. Seeing the injury, Sans scooted forward on the floor, positing himself right in front of Alphys.

“What are you -”

Alphys was cut off when he softly cupped her hands, letting some of his blue magic flow out of his finger tips. “Healing ya.”

Her eyes went wide, staring at the small cloud of blue. It wasn’t at all like the violent magic cloud outside, the one his Father put there. Alphys could still remember it vividly, even from the depths of a castle. The way the storm brewed, lingering in the air with a dark purple hue, ready to crash down onto Wonderland at any given point. Separating it from any other world.

The magic creeping along her skin was different. It was soft, almost like silk, gently wrapping around her like a comforting blanket. She could almost sense the care, the friendship, the love for his friends that Sans held.

“Is this how you healed Grillby?” Alphys asked, quiet.

“Yeah, kinda,” Sans said.

A second passed before he drew his hands away, giving Alphys some space to realize what he had done. The marks were completely gone, and they didn’t sting anymore.

“When I was younger, I was terrified of my magic. I thought if I used it, I’d be like my Dad. I never really grew out of that, but it was way worse back then.” Sans wrapped his hands around his knees. “My Mom was really helpful about it. I like being able to use magic, because it means I can save the people I care about.”

Alphys stared at her hands. He didn’t have to heal her. It wasn’t a big injury. But he did, because he cared about her.

“Excuse me.”

Alphys stood up, walking to the bars of their cell. A set look was twisted onto her face as she pounded at the bars, demanding for a guard.

“Stop that,” A guard said, walking up to their cell.

“Take me to the Queen.” Alphys crossed her arms to hid her trembling hands, sucking in a breath.

“On whose authority?” He asked.

“On the authority of Alphys White, daughter of Snow White, I demand to be taken to the Queen of Hearts!” Alphys jabbed a finger towards the card from between the bars. “And if I’m not brought before it at this very instant, I will guarantee that my Mother will bring an army to Wonderland as a response for holding me captive!”

The card stared at her for a moment before nodding, pulling out a pair of keys and opening the bar doors for Alphys to leave through. “R-Right this way, Princess Alphys.”

~~~~~~

_“Sans?”_

_Sans curled underneath the table, tears threatening to fall from his eye sockets. He blinked a few times, glancing upwards at his Mother. She was crouched next to the table, head tilted to the side as she watched him._

_“What are you doing down there?” She asked._

_“I don’t want to use my magic anymore.” Sans curled against his body, shaking his head._

_“Why not?”_

_He shrugged. “It’s scary. I don’t want to become evil.”_

_After a moment, the Cheshire cat sat down under the table next to him. She tapped her hand to gain his attention, letting him watch as it shimmered away into sparkles._

_“Magic may not be very common, but Cheshire’s have it as well as skeletons,” She said, “Am I evil?”_

_“No.”_

_“Is Kitty evil?”_

_Sans rubbed his arms lightly. “... No.”_

_“Let’s say Snow White grabbed a gun and shot your Father. Would you say she’s Evil for defending her people?”_

_“No.”_

_“Sans, just because you have magic, that doesn't mean you’re evil. It doesn’t guarantee anyone to do any evil, or good. It’s what you choose to use your magic for that says who you are. And you’re a little prankster, just like your Mommy and older sister. C’mon kid, let’s go watch a movie.”_

_Sans turned towards her, before gently smiling. “Okay Mommy.”_

~~~~~~

Holy crap, that actually _worked_?

Alphys pushed her arms together, following the two guards that led her to the throne room. She didn’t think she’d have much authority here, and that was something she actually had been hoping for. To be normal. To walk down a hallway, and have people not turn their heads towards you.

And now, she wanted to retain her power. Because she could use it to save the people she cared about.

Seeing Sans’ magic compared to his Father’s finally broke down the last doubt she held about magic. Magic and White’s never did mix well, since the use of magic only brought about misfortune in their destinies. She knew Sans wouldn’t use his magic on her, but still, seeing him use his skeletal magic always brought a twinge of fear she’d feel guilt over. And he used it to heal her.

Her arms tingled with anxiety, but she swallowed that away, forcing herself into a straightened posture. She had to do this, for all of them. For Undyne, Papyrus, Grillby, Kitty, and Sans.

To think, before school started, she hated her name. She hated her face, she hated everything about her. And instead of turning her away, using her with fake smiles like everyone else, her friends didn’t do that. They all cared about her, and her them, so she was going to use what power she felt horrified at before to protect them.

Don’t get her wrong, she still had no plans of taking over the throne. Once she and Undyne graduated, she wanted to move into a nice little home with her, near all of her friends, and live the simple life for herself she’s always wanted.

To think she was ever scared of magic. What she should be scared of was who held that magic. The Evil King.

She felt horrible about ever assuming Sans’ magic might hurt her. In the end, they shared quite a lot of problems, despite being from such different sides of their destinies. They both were misjudged, thrown into situations by their heritage neither wanted. Sans didn’t want to poison her, Alphys didn’t want to be poisoned.

Her body felt tense, but she carried on throughout the hallway. Her battle with anxiety has always been a factor in her life, she couldn’t remember a time before it. It was something, in the end, she’d always have to live with. But she wanted to work towards a world where both her and Sans could walk into a room, without anyone batting an eye.

When they arrived back into the throne room, Alphys stiffened in shock from the sight before her. Queen Toriel and King Asgore, the rulers of Wonderland, lacked any presence within the throne room. Instead, sitting in the large throne, was a person. Their brown hair was swept to the side, revealing two large pink circles on each cheek, red eyes narrowing at Alphys.

“The Queen of Hearts and her husband had business to take care of right after you left for the dungeon,” The frog from earlier explained, bowing just like before towards the eldest child of the goat monsters. “Behold, the next Ruler of Wonderland, Chara Heart.”


	27. Chapter 27

_Little blue ears peaked up from a log, followed by a giggling face. Chara, a small child, poked the tip of Sans’ nose cavity._

_“Found you!” Chara said._

_“Aw, man!” Sans sighed with defeat, leaning against the log with a large smile. “You always find me!”_

_“Because you keep hiding with your tail sticking out!” Chara grabbed the tail lightly, waving it around in front of his face. “It’s a bright blue beacon to you.”_

_“Nuh uh,” Sans said._

_“Uh uh.” Chara stuck their tongue out at him._

_After staring at each other, they both broke out into giggling fits at the others face._

_“You’re nice, I like hanging out with you,” Sans said. His tail wagged happily as he sat down onto the log was he hiding behind previously. “You don’t throw rocks at me.”_

_“People throw rocks at you? That sounds mean. I don’t like mean!” Chara narrowed their eyes at him. “I’ll be a big meanie back! Off with their heads!”_

_“No, don’t do that!”_

_Chara made a chopping motion with her hand, causing Sans to snort again. Seeing Sans snort made Chara laugh again._

_“Do you want to go skip rocks on the floating lake?” Chara asked._

_“Yeah!” Sans said, sticking up his arms. From his lack of balance on the log, Sans promptly fell over. Seeing this, Chara giggled again, sticking up their arms to imitate him and fall just like Sans, plopping onto his body._

_“Friend pile!” Chara yelled._

~~~~~~

“Alphys White, daughter of Snow White?” Chara asked, tilting their head to the side. “That’s interesting. I’ve never met a fellow Royal before.”

Now that Alphys wasn’t bound by rope, she finally could catch a full view of the room. It was vast, decorated heavily with red and black, seemingly the themes of the Queen of Hearts. A large mirror hung above the throne, spread out against the wall and ending only a few inches short of edge. Chara themself wasrather fair, with firm brown hair, pink circles on their cheeks, and bright red eyes that dominated the room. The human crossed their legs, letting their dress brush out.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Alphys’ forced Princess lessons stood prominent in the front of her head, offering a curtsy towards Chara. Be polite, smile. Smile.

“Don’t waste my time with pleasures, we have much more dire problems.” Chara took a glance outside of the nearby window, looking up at the sky. “As of right now, Wonderland has no access to alternate worlds, and a large curse threatens to close in and kill all of my subjects. How did you enter this world?”

“Well, your Highness, we entered just as Sans said before. Through a well. We were trying to find a book they hid by it and -”

Chara make a scowl at Alphys’ story. “No, we don’t have time for that stuff. I need to find out how you guys managed to bypass the curse. Did you activate any spells, was the well magical?”

This already was becoming a complete disaster. Alphys didn’t know what to say! Why wasn’t Undyne here? She missed Undyne already. Her girlfriend was a bit firm at times, but she always knew how to get the point across. Alphys was no more than a fish out of water, gasping for the sweet release from social interaction to scatter away into oblivion. How did her Mother do it all the time?

Think, think! She just had to tell Chara straight up what happened. That was all she had to do!

“We aren’t exactly sure what happened,” Alphys explained, trying to ease their lack of knowledge onto the next Ruler. “As a Princess, I will take responsibility -”

Chara looked like they were going to snap, annoyed at Alphys’ royal personality. Alphys didn’t like her training either, but it was how she was taught to be Queen. Be nice to everyone, just like her story told. Be the perfect little Princess that everyone wanted her to be.

“If you waste anymore of my time, I will have you be replaced for the execution scheduled,” Chara muttered, voice strained. They rubbed their forehead, turning towards the frog monster next to them. “Who’s execution is scheduled tomorrow?”

“Sans Cheshire is scheduled, my Ruler.”

For a moment, a single moment, Alphys saw Chara’s face drop. It was the same expression she had plague her own face when he was threatened for a beheading.

“Ah.” Chara forced out, swallowing back a different response. “I see. Um… replace him with Alphys White. Yes. If she doesn’t give us the proper information, we’ll deal with her.” Chara certainly looked caught off guard, shifting in their seat uncomfortably. “Yes, yes.”

Well, that didn’t solve anything. It didn’t give them anymore time, and it didn’t even lead any of the rulers to believe Alphys! She needed to get them all to safety!

“Fine then,” Chara huffed, “If they won’t tell us what magic they used to bypass the curse, then -”

For Undyne. For all of her friends.

“Can you just shut up!”

Alphys was startled by her own voice, jumping back much like Chara had. The frog standing nearby seemed disinterested, as if he’s already seen plenty of this. Which, judging by how often that had executions, was a daily thing.

“Your _Majesty_ , I’m trying to talk to you to save myself and my friends!” Alphys said, jabbing a finger at them. “You don’t understand what we’ve been through! Sans and Kitty dropped a book into a well, so when we went in to try and get it out, the rope broke so they fell in! We followed because we’d rather all die failing to help them than watch our friends die.” Alphys took a firm step forward, followed by another. “And as future Queen of my land, I declare that all monsters from my land within your cells are underneath my rule, not yours or your Moms! You have no authority to say who is and isn’t executed!” Her hands were shaking by that point. “You should listen to us, freaking darn it! We were telling the truth! We don’t know why a well that disappears randomly took us here, all we know is that we fell down and ended up here! Sans doesn’t know how to use most of his magic, and he didn’t even use it on the well.”

“How do you know?”

Alphys paused, her entire body freezing. “What?”

“How do you know?” Chara repeated, gripping the edges of their throne. “How do you know he didn’t use his magic? The curse was created by his Father, Sans’ magic might be able to bypass it and allow him to travel to our world. Then he could finish what his Father started. Isn’t that why the curse of Wonderland was created, to separate Wonderland from all other worlds so he could conquer it without disturbance?”

That was one way that type of curse would be used. If someone wanted to conquer Wonderland, now would be the perfect time. No outside world would be able to send help if there was an attack, they’d be shut off. Away from any other resources, sources of magic. That, within itself, was a terrible situation for any Queen or Ruler to be inside of. Knowing if trouble came, they’d have no backup.

Was that why Chara and Queen Toriel were so on edge? That would explain it.

“I know… well, because…” Alphys looked outside. “Sans isn’t that type of person. When I first met him, he was terrified of me, because he didn’t want to hurt me. He ran away and shut himself off so I wouldn’t have to deal with the truth.” She pressed her two freshly healed hands against her chest. “He’s considerate, and cares deeply for the people around him. That’s why he’s one of my best friends. When I found out who he was, I was so confused and scared… I understood, after some thinking, that Sans wasn’t pretending, but I still found myself scared of his magic. And I can’t blame anyone who would be terrified of a skeletons magic. I mean, look outside. That’s terrifying. But Sans’ magic was different. It felt warm, nice, and I know that he is, and always will be, my best friend.”

Chara stared at Alphys, gripping their arm rests harder.

~~~~~~

_“Ow!”_

_Chara twisted onto their back, clutching their now injured arm. It was a small cut, no big deal, but Chara whined anyway, looking at the blood._

_“Are you okay?” Sans wasted no time plopping down next to them._

_“No, it hurts!” Chara whined._

_“I can help!” Sans said._

_His bare skeleton hands gently cupped the side of the child's arm, letting his blue magic fumble out of his hands. A few wasps curled around the injury, dulling the pain before they sizzled out of existence._

_“I don’t know how to fully heal injuries, but I’m learning!” Sans said, “Maybe when we grow up I can be your personal healer!”_

_“That’d be awesome!” Chara said, poking at the injury. “It’s still bleeding though.”_

~~~~~~

_Chara stood on their tippy toes, looking out of the window._

_“Mommy, that was just a game, right?” Chara asked, “Sans is going to come back tomorrow to play, right?”_

_Toriel gently pushed a paw against their back, gesturing for their child to turn away from the window. “No, he’s not coming back. He won’t be.”_

_Chara blinked towards the large goat monster. “Why not? Why’d you throw him out?”_

_Toriel sighed. At the time, the child didn’t understand. “Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with a skeleton? I should have nipped this in the bud before it started. You both have different destinies. You should become friends with Frisk. They’re the child of Alice, you both will have close destinies.”_

_“You think I want to play with a baby?” Chara whined, “They were born last week! I don’t wanna play with them!”_

_There wasn’t anything to add. Toriel turned away from her child. “Either way, Sans is no longer welcome here. No one knows where his Father is, it seems he went into hiding shortly after Sans was born. For all we know he’s hiding and secretly training his son to get close to you, to kidnap you and use you as a hostage. I’m sorry, for but for the safety of our people, and for your safety, that’s a risk I cannot take. You’ll understand when you’re older. But when the Evil King roams free, and his bloodline is trying to get close to my child, I must cut them off. He’s destined for evil, he will one day want to kill you.”_

_“But…” Chara, on the verge of tears, blinked their red eyes. “He’s my only friend.”_

_“Come along, I’ll bake you a pie, then we’ll review your Kingdom books. Don’t worry, when he tries to kill you in the future, you’ll be happy you threw him away now.”_

_Chara turned back towards the window. They could see Sans being lifted up out of the sludge surrounding their castle by his Mother, the Cheshire woman yelling profanities at the guards who threw them. Chara could run downstairs and see him off, make sure Sans was okay. Promise to play with their best friend._

_“Okay Mommy,” Chara mumbled, grabbing their Mothers hand._

~~~~~~

Alphys watched Chara cross their legs, lightly chewing on the tip of their thumb. Alphys didn’t see a ruler, or a tyrant within that chair. In fact, she saw herself. The turmoil of receiving such responsibility and pressure from a young age, forcing her into an anxious ball of self doubt and inner pain.

But she did it. She told someone off. Alphys smiled gently to herself, squeezing her hands tightly. That was the second time she felt so confident. Before, she’d have never been able to do that. Face off against someone and say what she believed, much less another ruler.

She didn’t stutter. That was something Alphys realized afterwards. Not one single stutter.

“Release the prisoners,” Chara said after the long silence, slumping back into their chair with a defeated sigh.

“Do you wish to go against your Mothers orders?” The frog asked.

“As the next destined Ruler of Wonderland, I have just as much authority as my Mother. So I’m terminating her order. Release them.”


	28. Chapter 28

When Alphys came back, a grin wide on her face, Sans knew she did it.

He found himself proud, like a friend should be, as they were all released. Not only had Alphys faced the Queen on her own, she managed to talk her into releasing them!

"I told them that I'm kinda in charge of your guys, since you all are technically my subjects..." Alphys admitted, scratching the side of their head. "I guess I am slightly following my destiny now."

"I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! YOU'RE ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS!" Papyrus said.

"Holy sh*t man, are you crying?" Undyne asked him.

"YES AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!" Papyrus said, hugging Alphys.

Kitty combed a hand through her hair, watching her new friend group talk to Alphys and ask how the encounter went. Sans snorted at a pun Undyne shared with him, both grinning as Papyrus proceeded to screech at it with annoyance. Grillby joined in, leading to another scream of agony from Papyrus. Too many puns could break anyone.

A card stood idly by, watching them all with a blank, plain expression on his face. However, as if someone invisible suddenly spoke into his ear, he suddenly perked up.

"The Ruler has requested a seeing with the next Evil King," He said.

Sans paused. "Uh... what?"

"The rest of the Earthlings will be directed to the exit, and you will join them shortly after. They want a meeting with you alone."

Sans... wasn't all that surprised. It was to be expected. When he even dared to come near the castle before, the Queen would always have her guards drag him inside and have a very long discussion, basically threatening him. He was kinda used to it. If his childhood didn't prepare him enough, the encounters with the HeadMaster certainly did. What was it with people in power threatening any move he did in private meetings? Was it a trend?

"Don't worry, she won't hurt me," Sans told his friends once he spotted the worried looks on their faces, "The Queen is all about public, scheduled executions. She probably just wants to lecture me on what I shouldn't do to p*ss her off."

"She did it often," Kitty explained.

The flame monster next to Sans raised an arm, but lowered it, giving a short "Stay safe" before he was walked off towards the exit. Sans gave his friends a wave, but didn't dwell. He wasn't going to die, he'd be fine.

Without much argument, Sans followed the card, back hunched and hands shoved into his pockets as he shuffled along. It really had been so long, but the memories of this castle came rushing back every time he turned to look at the designs. Deep down, no matter what happened to him in his home land, he always would consider Wonderland to be his true home. No doubt did he enjoy his new life on Earth, it was awesome, but Wonderland was held close in his soul. He missed the crazy randomness, the tea times, the daily naps, everything. Even the giggling trees and the whispering grass, or the mushrooms that'd turn your face blue if you ate them.

The office he found himself inside of was quite familiar. Yup. This was the place Queen Toriel dragged him to for his weekly lectures. It felt weekly, anyways. Her and the Headmaster had a lot in common.

A person stood near the window, looking down at children playing in the courtyard of the castle. Sans saw the dress in the corner of his vision, but choked on his words when he saw who was wearing it.

"Leave us be," Chara told the card.

"Yes, my Ruler." The card gave a bow, then was gone within the second. Silence loomed through the awkward tension.

"Heeyyyyy there," Sans said.

Chara. His childhood friend. His first friend. The person who abandoned him and ignored him was here. Well, he knew it wasn't their fault, but still! They didn't leave off on a good note, where was he supposed to pick up? See any cute monsters lately? Yeah, that'd go great. Just ignore the fact that he was supposed to be an evil tyrant and they were supposed to be his enemy.

"Hello." Chara closed their red eyes, turning back towards him.

Once again, silence. If Sans strained his hearing enough, he could hear the children's screams from the distance, playing and laughing freely like they once did.

"You know, Sans, sometimes I get jealous of those children," Chara said, "I see them almost everyday. I'm supposed to be working on my studies, but I look anyway. I watch them, and they often remind me of us. We'd play and play until the sun dropped his cigarette and slept away with the stars. You'd always get mad whenever I cheated, or whenever I'd cut the heads off of your sisters dolls."

Sans folded his ears against his skull, averting his gaze from the Ruler when they looked. When Chara saw this, they sighed.

"I've had a lot of time to dwell on our friendship, and what it meant to me. What it meant to both of us, to our parents and their parents and our ancestors. The people we're supposed to follow to a tea." Their lips were pushed thin, taking a pause before continuing. "Then the curse settled in, and I thought 'Mom was right'. You were going to be evil. You disappeared when the curse appeared. We all thought your Father finally came and took you away to be evil. Then I started dreaming. Dreaming about our adventures, what you'd say and what I'd say about us and our futures. I thought you might have been kidnapped by your Father. That'd make more sense than you running away with him. Once I even dreamed about saving you with my army from me. But I guess that was a fools dream. Wherever he ended up, after he set the curse of Wonderland, it's clear he never did come to see you, even at the very end."

Finally did Sans participate in the conversation. "Yer right. He... he didn't."

"So I'm assuming your stance is still the same. And judging by Alphys White, I can also assume it is far more deeper than that. I could tell by the way she talked about you. She reminds me of myself, in a sense. But she's developed and grown, she's learned from you and you've learned from her. I, however, remained stagnant. Waiting for a Charming Royal that was never destined for me to sweep me away from this life I call my future. That's the funny thing about our destinies. Alphys didn't wait for her Prince Charming, she took control and faced me herself. I respect that, in her. She isn't the next Snow White anyone would expect. I find myself jealous of her, in that regard. I have just as many luxuries as her, the same type of title and destiny of a Kingdom, yet she found something that eludes me. Friendship. I study and I study, and then I sleep and it's a repeat of that."

"She's not following her destiny, neither is Paps, or Undyne and Grillby... Kitty is still a yes, though, so you might wanna watch out for her." Sans twiddled his digits inside of his hoodie pocket. "That's what's happened on Earth. No one has to sign for their destinies anymore."

"I'm going to guess that your movement hasn't really smoothed over yet," Chara said.

Sans chuckled lightly. "Nope. A lot of people still hate me, but it's calmed down. I'm just trying to show everyone I'm a normal guy, that I'm not evil. It's a work in progress."

Chara continued to watch Sans. They let out a look of relief, finally coming to a conclusion themselves. "Sans, I'm not sure how I feel about you. It's clear you're no Evil King, and that times are changing, but I still find myself confused on my emotions towards you. And perhaps I may never come to a complete conclusion, not like Alphys has, and that's fine." Chara blinked slowly. "But I believe it's clear you're no enemy of mine. Perhaps my frustration from you only stems from my withheld hatred of my Mothers view of you, or perhaps I held you dear to my own soul all this time, like before. You had been, and this will never change, my closest friend in my childhood. I don't think it's possible for us to resume our friendship, it won't reach that stage for awhile, but... I don't think I can simply use you as a placeholder of hatred for your Father. And if you do consider ever visiting the castle, well..." Chara turned from him, "You won't be met by a weapon, but by a cup of tea and pie. And, if things go good, by someone you consider a friend once more. I believe you should leave now, my Mother will be returning soon, and she isn't very keen on you."

Sans turned to teleport, but looked back at Chara. "Thanks, Chara. I... I don't hate you. I never did."

"Nor did I. I'm sorry. For everything."

With that, he vanished into a burst of sparkles.

~~~~~~

When Sans reappeared, he found his friends easily. They went to the entrance, high on hope and confidence, happy giggles filled amongst them.

Then, they reached the front hall.

"Kitty, Sans?"

They paused, turning towards a woman they loved dearly. Her cheekbones were more curved, thick lavender hair pulled into a ponytail and her tail swishing happily.

"Mom?" The two siblings whispered.

There was no hesitation before they rushed into their Mother's arm, caught within a hug by her loving embrace. "Look at you two, my little kittens!" She cooed gently, pecking kisses along Kitty's forehead before trailing to Sans'. "You've both grown up into such fine people! And you aren't wearing your hoods anymore! I'm so happy!"

"Mom, Mom, I have friends now!" Sans said excitedly, pointing towards his friend group, "They hang out with us and have sleepovers and I don't have to wear hoods anymore!"

"Oh, my little babies, I'm so proud!" She hugged them both tightly again, before pulling back to look at them. "Come home, and bring your friends! We have so much to talk about!"

And so they did.

The house was much like Sans remembered. A small, three bedroom with walls that turned occasionally. The wallpaper crawled along it, sometimes hissing at anyone who came too close, with mirrors as the only change, lacking their presence within the household that they had before. All of his friends made introductions to their Mom, eagerly as excited to meet her as she was them. Undyne quickly impressed her by lifting half of their house off of the ground, and Papyrus showed her his cooking skills by promptly setting their kitchen on fire. Never change, Paps.

After that was settled, they explained how they ended up inside of Wonderland, causing the Cheshire cat to gasp and grin, telling them how it worked. The spell had been cast in a hurry, so the Evil King hadn't managed to close off every exit. The Well of Wonder, as she had called it, was a portal between the two worlds that shifted locations. She sent a flying letter to the Queen of Hearts at once, telling them that Wonderland could use the well to reverse the curse entirely. The curse was set to block off the world, if they used an entrance that wasn't blocked on other exits, it'd break through the curse and chip away until it was destroyed. It'd take a few days, and the cloud wouldn't be gone until the curse was entire gone, but it would work.

Sans couldn't stop smiling. He just couldn't. Everything was _perfect_. He had friends, he had his Mom, the curse could be removed. Chara wanted to try and be friends with him again, his destiny was his own... everything turned out perfect. He was free, his future was free.

So that was it. The final page to his story. He could be a writer, settle down in a cabin next to his friends, and have a life how he's always wanted it. Find a nice guy, get married, and live.

His story was done. Right?

~~~~~~

Soft humming fluttered throughout the house as Mrs. Cheshire sewed, looking through the darkness without any light. She was a night cat, darkness didn't bother her.

"You can come in dear," She hummed.

Quietly, the boy who was standing in the door shuffled in, thick white hair bouncing at his movements. "HELLO MRS. CHESHIRE," He said, voice somehow remaining quiet, "I'M SORRY IF YOU WERE BUSY DOING SOMETHING, BUT CAN I ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS? OR VOICE A CONCERN I HAVE?"

"Of course, dear," She said, continuing her task. "What's bothering you?"

"IT'S ABOUT THE EVIL KING."

She stopped.

"I told you all earlier, it wasn't the best decision in my life. He was an older man, I wasn't even out of high school yet. He took advantage of my naive choice making. I was a teenage parent who was pressured into having my heir by my parents, and he... Well, he was there for me. Though I should have known better against a twenty three year old man trying to seduce a seventeen year old girl..." She closed her eyes, "Don't be wrong, I do love Sans, and I don't regret having him in the slightest. I just wish he was born through different means."

"I KNOW, YOU TOLD US EARLIER. AND AS CONCERNING AS IT IS FOR AN ADULT TO PERSUE A TEENAGER, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE." Papyrus sat down across from her on the couch. "THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT JUST DON'T ADD UP. ABOUT HOW HE DISAPPEARED."

"Oh?" Mrs. Cheshire squinted her eyes at him.

"SANS SAID HE NEVER MET HIS DAD, AND YOU SAID GASTER KNEW HE HAD A SON BUT NEVER VISITED. SO THAT MEANS GASTER RAN AWAY AND AVOIDED THE AUTHORITIES UNTIL HE SET THE CURSE ONTO WONDERLAND, BUT... THERE'S A DISCONTINUITY WITH THAT. GERSON SAID THE EVIL KING WANTED TO RAISE HIS CHILD TO BE LIKE HIM, SO WHY WOULD HE RUN? AND WHY WOULD HE GO QUIET FOR SO LONG? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE'S SUCH A LARGE GAP IN HIS ACTIONS FROM WHEN SANS WAS BORN TO ALL OF THAT TIME LATER. I KNOW HE WAS CAUGHT RIGHT AFTER HE SET THE CURSE, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. WHY WOULD HE WAIT FOR SO LONG? AND WHY WOULD HE NOT EVEN VISIT SANS?"

"You're smart," Mrs. Cheshire said, setting down her sewing items. "And you're right. That's not what happened. Snow White and I agreed to hide what really occurred."

"IS... IS THE EVIL KING STILL OUT THERE?" Papyrus asked, orange eyes snapping wide.

"Oh, no, not at all. He is gone, and unless he's set free by the outside world, he's not going anywhere." She was quick to reassure him. "But how he was caught has been hidden. And how he... Gaster and I, it's been so long since I've said that name, didn't leave off on a good note. I didn't want him inside of Sans' life. But he wanted to be there."

"HE WANTED TO BE SANS' FATHER?"

"I'm not sure why. But he truly did want to be involved with Sans. He bought baby clothes, talked about where he was going to take him, those sort of things. I know he had plans for him. That was what scared me. He definitely wanted to turn Sans into him, so we decided we'd set up a watch. If he tried to meet Sans after he was born, we'd be ready. We'd wait for him, set up an alarm to catch him."

"SO DID HE TRY TO MEET SANS? AND THAT'S HOW YOU CAUGHT HIM?"

"He didn't try. He succeeded."

~~~~~~

_Mrs. Cheshire yawned, tilting her ears back as she shuffled forward. Barely at the age of a legal adult, and she had two children to care for. It was quite straining, but since her duties were simply to play pranks, she found most of her focus on her two kittens. Kitty, after some fighting, was finally put to sleep, and now she had to check on Sans._

_When she walked into his room, he wasn't alone._

_The baby was no more than a few days old, so small, giggling as he was held in the air. Little blue tail swishing as his stubby hands reached out, playing with the small bundle of magic above his head, dark purple and blooming into several types of flowers. He wasn't inside of his crib, but instead pressed to the chest of a man she knew quite well._

_"Gaster?" Mrs. Cheshire asked._

_The tall figure, who's height practically consumed her in his dark purple cloak, turned. Void skeleton sockets stared down at her, hollow and disinterested in her. She served her purpose to him, she was no longer of any use._

_"He's so tiny and fragile," Gaster said, booping the giggling child's nose with the tip of his phalange. "So breakable. An easy hostage. No wonder my parents used them." Horror etched onto her face, the Mother looking so terrified at the possibility of one of her kittens being taken away. The Evil King chuckled. "Snow White and I have finished our destinies involving each other, so I decided to pay my little Sans a visit. So boring, huh? Our intertwined story only lasted a week, everyone hypes it up so much yet it happens so fast."_

_"Put him down," She said, almost on the verge of pleading._

_"Relax. I don't have any plans on hurting him right now. Because he's my little babyyy~" Gaster made a cooing sound after he baby talked to Sans, wiggling his fingers and magic about. The child giggled again, snorting and rolling inside of his arms. "See, he's happy."_

_"I can't trust you. Not when he can get hurt. Put him down." She took a step forward, trying to think of a strategy that'd get both her and Sans out of that room alive. Her mind found none._

_"It doesn't matter if you trust me or not. Frankly, I just led you along to have my offspring produced. You were there, I was needy, and that's the end of that chapter. Your opinion is so worthless that I couldn't care less about the quarrels of a Mother."_

_"What are you going to do to him? Take him away? Train him to be like you?" Keep him talking. She had to keep him talking._

_Gaster hummed, thoughtfully. "I have my own plans. No need to share. Perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. Telling you would be a waste of my air, though. You might have carried him, but that's the extent of your usefulness. Well, you were entertaining to be around, I'll give you that. Like a live T.V show. So don't look so sad that our time together didn't last. In the end, we both knew it was temporary."_

_"I know. That's why I continued with it. You were different, a temporary different, and I liked that. I like stories, and you created them."_

_"Oh," Gaster held up a familiar thick, hardcover book. "I know."_

_She growled. "My diary?"_

_"I think I'll keep this. As a trophy for what I've accomplished. If I can seduce you, I'm sure I can seduce anyone." He flipped through some pages, then snapped it shut, the other hand still holding Sans against his chest. "And maybe I'll keep Sans, too." The diary was slipped under his coat, never to be seen again._

_Mrs. Cheshire tapped her foot. Just a little longer. Until they got there._

_"As a trophy?" She asked._

_"It depends. Like I said, my plans are for me to do and for you to suffer from. That's the world we live in. Evil dominates the weak, let's be honest if we're having a heart to heart."_

_Now!_

_Mrs. Cheshire teleported right next to him, managing to snatch Sans out of his hands. The Evil King was just as fast, landing a blow on her stomach that sent her flying into the wall. She felt the familiar tug of soul magic pull at Sans, trying to wretch him out of her arms, but she teleported downstairs, dropping onto the couch with him and her free of the mans magic._

_Breath. Take a second to think. She could sense the magic, and no doubt he could too. They were there. Grimm, Prince Charming, and Snow White._

_Just like that, it was over._

_She remembered limping outside, stomach bleeding from the attack and looking at their victory. A mirror, taller than her, held the reflection of the man she never did love, banging on the glass and shouting profanities. He growled, voice low and deadly, before he finally disappeared._

_"The Magical Mirror, it can cast someone into the Mirror Realm, never to return unless the mirror is broken," Mrs. Cheshire recalled quietly, voice almost barren of strength._

_"It worked," Snow White said, smile soft. "But... not without repercussions."_

_The two girls glanced at the small cloud of dark magic, swirling as Prince Charming and Grimm managed to contain it within a glass ball._

_"The spell I cast can contain it from Wonderland, but... I can only temporarily stop it. His magic is too strong, the spell can't be broken until after the curse has been cast." The man sighed, young and alive, running a hand through his hair. "That bastard... we almost had him. He tried to lock us inside of Wonderland so we'd be as trapped as he was."_

_"How long can you contain it?" Snow White helped prop Kitty, and despite being a skeleton, took a hold on Sans to care for._

_"Twelve years at the best," Her husband said. He stood, watching the small glass ball shake. "More like ten. We managed to stop him before he completed the spell, so there will be at least one opening unsealed. But when it breaks out of Grimm's barrier, it's going to hit hard and fast."_

_"Should we evacuate everyone onto Earth?" Grimm asked._

_"That'd be far too many people. Wonderland is bigger than earth, not to mention the cultural differences would cause confusion and chaos..." Snow White thought, hand tapping on her chin. "I believe he tried to seal off Wonderland as a response to us trying to imprison him as a turn of tide. Instead of us sealing him, he probably planned to seal us in Wonderland, pick us off without any of my dwarves to help, than conquer Wonderland. Though, he didn't finish the spell fast enough, so we won."_

_"For now." Grimm glared at the mirror, than Sans. "Did he cast any spells on the boy? Enhance his magic?"_

_"No," Mrs. Cheshire said, "Sans is fine. He'll grow up to be happy. He'll be good, I promise. I'll raise him right."_

_He eyed the baby with suspicion. "I'm not risking it. His evil is genetic. If he ever comes to earth, I'll be keeping my eye on him."_

_"That's fair," Prince Charming said._

_"I believe the best plan for this would be to keep quiet," Snow White said._

_"Shouldn't we tell people that we've imprisoned him?" Grimm asked._

_"Gerson and I talked after I woke up from the kiss, and I don't think letting everyone know this happened wouldn't be a great idea." The lizard woman glanced around at them. "We've sealed him into the Mirror Realm. A lot of monsters know how that works, and mirrors are our main source of connection. Imagine what would happen if we revealed he was trapped inside of a mirror? Even though he can't do anything, people will become paranoid. And what if they find his mirror and break it, thinking it would kill him, when it'd only set him free? Or what about the other people with evil destinies that would try to release him? It's best if people think he's still on the run. We shouldn't tell them anything, not right now. Not when my destiny just finished, and is still relevant. It'd only stir things further into chaos."_

_"And what about the curse he set? It'll escape it's containment after ten years, and Wonderland will be sealed off." She looked at her old friend._

_Snow White shook her head. "I'm going to have to ask everyone here to remain quiet about that as well. Toriel became the Queen right after I did, she can't take on something that important so suddenly. And once we find the opening that isn't sealed, that the curse hadn't finished, we can reverse it and restore access to Wonderland."_

_"So we're just going to leave it? My home?" She asked._

_"We aren't going to abandon it. You don't have to either. We can give you world teleporters, for the Wonderland children when it hits, but we have to keep this curse, and everything involving Gaster, a secret. Full discretion about this. We can tell everyone that we've imprisoned him after the curse hits, but that's once we've built a room to hold the mirror within. Is everyone in agreement?"_

_One by one, everyone nodded, slowly. "Because of his destiny... I'm going to tell Gerson. He deserves to know what happened. Not only for him, but for Undyne as well." Prince Charming said._

_"I won't tell my children, or the Queen," Mrs. Cheshire said, "I promise."_

~~~~~~

"HE'S... HE WAS IN PRISON THIS WHOLE TIME?" Papyrus asked.

She nodded, slow. "He always was. I told Sans his Father didn't want to see him, but... that wasn't true. Gaster did. He wanted to be a Father, and as much as I hate it, he did want to be involved in Sans' life. I'm sure Sans would understand, though some of his resentment towards his Father was built over the absence in his life, and that might now disappear if he learned the truth. I didn't want to tell Sans until he was older, I was waiting for his eighteenth birthday. Snow White and I agreed we could tell him then, when he's an adult and can make his own choices. We agreed after his first birthday about what age we should tell Sans."

"AND THE DIARY... HE TOOK IT, BUT SANS FOUND IT IN A LIBRARY," Papyrus nervously tapped his fingers together. "HOW?"

"That's what I'm worried about. The Mirror Realm isn't just connected to that one mirror, it's connected to every mirror. If it's a mirror, he can see though it. And since mirrors are often found within almost every building, it's possible that Gaster somehow managed to use his magic to drop the book for Sans to find. Sans told me he and Kitty thought someone dropped it to him, and I knew it was too convenient that Sans so happened to find it. Gaster definitely left it for Sans to find, I'm not sure why."

"SO THAT MEANS THE EVIL KING CAN ACCESS THE OUTSIDE WORLD."

"The most the mirror should allow is small bits of magic, and there's nothing we can do to stop that. Not enough to kill anyone, thankfully, and it looks like he stayed out of Sans' life. So if he has been watching, it's been only that. Watching, not participating. He might only have become active recently because of Alphys, and the events you all have gone through. That's the only explanation."

"THANK YOU, FOR EXPLAINING. I'M GLAD IT MAKES SENSE NOW." Papyrus stood, smile gentle on his pale face. "AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, YOU RAISED SANS WELL. EXCEPT FOR HIS PUNS, YOU NEED TO GROUND HIM FOR THOSE."

"No, sorry, he gets those from some god above, even I cannot stop them," She said, rubbing his hair. "But Robin Hood raised you well. Go to bed, Papyrus. And don't worry about Gaster, he's gone now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, quick warning. Remember all of the warnings I put into the credit of this book? Well, they're coming into play soon. Like it's going to get dark. DARK. There is going to be on screen incest, forced kissing, pedophilia, attempted non-con, and so much you should watch out for. It's coming up in a few chapters, so be prepared. Of course it won't all happen at once but the rest of the book isn't "haha fun stuff" like the chapters we've had so far. Expect to want to vomit.


	29. Chapter 29

He hated this. He absolutely despised this. 

Mettaton felt metal crunch under his robotic teeth as he sat on the edge of his bed, feet tapping against the floor in annoyance. Despite the grand bedroom he had, the luxurious items he acquired, they flew over his head. Ignored. 

He could cope with evil not being genetic. Fine, whatever. There wasn’t any scientific proof, and with Alphys’ rants of science and biology, he could understand that. But this was all that he was trained for! Mettaton didn’t know how to pay bills, how to buy a house, how to do anything! He knew his way around a sword, and that was it. He was counting on his destiny, and now that destinies were becoming more nullified than before, it was dragging down his future. 

In only three days, Sans managed to destroy his entire life. Safe to say Mettaton didn’t really like the little neko skeleton. Everytime they passed each other in class, or in the halls, he wanted to ram his fist into his face. He ruined everything!

If it was his future alone, Mettaton wouldn’t have been as mad as he found himself. No, he had been depending on his future as a King to support his younger brother, Blooky! Blooky was shy and disabled, a certain part of his monster soul wouldn’t work, he’d never be able to possess physical objects. And, as a result of that, Blooky couldn’t interact with any physical objects. It took a lot to even get his ghost computer, monster ghosts didn’t have much objects that could interact with in their ghost form. He’d never be able to provide work, and being the second sibling, he had no destiny. No secure means of finance. Which Mettaton was going to provide, but Sans threw a wretch into that plan rather quickly. 

Mettaton would admit his anger was a little misplaced, after all, Alphys wasn’t straight and he was bisexual, the tale that they were born for each other was rather flakey at best. But still, he couldn’t find himself to be mad at Alphys, she was just trying her best, but the fact that she could never love him and never continue his destiny brought out anger he could only direct at Sans. All Mettaton was supposed to do was kiss her for gods sake, how could his life purpose become so complicated. Kiss the girl, wake her up, fight evil, happily freaking ever. But their destiny would never be signed. 

And Blooky… Mettaton’s future wouldn’t be secure. He couldn’t guarantee himself, a future spouse, or his beloved younger brother a good life. And that alone was terrifying. Everything always was set and ready for him to do, Mettaton had been taught to be dependent so he had no idea how to function independently. Without his looks and sword, he was nothing. 

Yet the world continued without him. They didn’t need the next Prince Charming. Wonderland’s curse was removed easily. Sure, a lot of people were still uncertain about Sans, but he got the happy life he always wanted while Mettaton rotted in the dirt. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t. 

Deep down, Mettaton knew, understood that Sans following his destiny wasn’t fair either, but he’d rather Blooky have a happy and secure life, supported by Mettaton, than Sans. Sure, it was unfair, but Mettaton would choose his loved ones over others. Sans was just a peer, no one outside of the friend group he was inside of knew much about them. And that included Mettaton. That, too, was another fact that made his oil boil. Alphys didn’t even bother to invite him. It was like a slap to the face, another stab in his brutal wake up call. He wasn’t anything to her but the kid she was forced to hang out with. 

He hated it. Hated everything. 

Lord, Papyrus. To be honest, that human had been kinda growing onto him before this happened. Mettaton naturally shoved down any sort of romance there, he (unlike Alphys) was saving himself for her and their future marriage. He also had to confess his lack of feelings towards her as well. When you watched someone pee themselves out of fear as a young child, that kind of thing stuck on his mind. He couldn’t imagine ever being attracted to the girl that cried at almost everything. Maybe that’s why he kinda liked Papyrus. He could have gotten with him, but that would had been cheating, so he refrained. Was that why he found himself so emotional? Was this a breakup? A betrayal?

When the others came back from Wonderland, grins wide on their faces with some new Wonderland students in tow, he kind of… broke. He didn’t mean to snap at Papyrus for talking to him in the bathroom, and darn it, the guy was so understanding he told Mettaton he was always there for him if he needed someone to talk to. Mettaton didn’t even hate Papyrus, so why did he lash out at him? Was it just because he was a friend of Sans’? Would he really stoop down that low? Apparently so. 

He definitely was going to apologize to him later. To Papyrus, not Sans. Mettaton was going to let those emotions fizzle out of their own. Let them stew. He was too angry to do anything. Mettaton reached blindly for the fruit basket next to his table, trying to grab an apple from the stack of them. The only reminded him of his destiny, but he couldn’t help but order the servants to keep refilling the fruit basket with only apples. Self destruction was his only strong trait. 

Even that didn’t go right, since the apple rolled out of his grasp. He should close the window when he was done mentally complaining. Mettaton went for the apple a few more times, trying to grasp at it everytime it rolled out of his grasp, cursing at the wind.

Wait, wasn’t his window closed? Mettaton hated wind. 

He sat up, looking at the apple on the top of the basket. It rolled, despite the lack of previous motion, before eventually bouncing out and thumping onto the table. Ew, now it’d be bruised. Mettaton muttered annoyances under his breath, before reaching for it again. He’d throw it away and grab a new one. 

But, once again, without any physical contact to a moving force, it suddenly shot off from the table, rolling towards the door before stopping flatly at the door. 

Mettaton, plain confused, followed it to the door, opening it and watching as the apple sprang to life again and bolted down the hallway into the door. He continued to follow, and when he reached the end of the hallway, the apple bolted down the side until it hit a wall, waiting for him. 

He followed. 

The apple seemed to have a direction in mind, leading Mettaton past several mirrors down winding staircases and eloquent hallways until it finally reached his basement. Which was supposed to be locked. It contained his Fathers winnings as Prince Charming, and some of them were too fragile to be kept out in the open. Especially with their random battles Mettaton and his Dad had, best to keep them safe in the basement.

Mettaton only went down there a few times, but he never even went into the back. Really, he didn’t even know a backroom was there. So he was rather surprised when the apple bumped against a door, one forgein to him, also oddly unlocked despite the number of bolts across the lock. 

What was his Dad keeping in the basement? If it was something weird or private he did with his Mom, he was leaving. 

Instead, the room was lacking any furniture. Any furniture but one single mirror, tall and broad. It could easily be identified as some type of special mirror, with glass that shimmed and moved like water, as if he could simply walk inside of it and disappear into something forever. Magic lowly hummed from it as well, creating a sickly taste in the back of his throat, the same kind you felt when something was unnerving. Like when the enemy seemed defeated, but in your instincts you felt as if they appeared too suspiciously defeated. 

Metatton didn’t know if he wanted to scream or throw the apple somewhere. He already had a frustrating enough day, then suddenly this magic apple decided to lead him to a stupid mirror of all things? He almost turned around and kicked the fragile objects outside into destruction.

“Your poor, poor thing,” A voice resonated from the mirror, dark and brooding. A hand, one of a particular species with a circle cut out from the middle pressed against the glass, slow and calculating. “Tell me your troubles.”

A face followed, and Mettaton did shout from surprise. 

Anyone knew what he looked like. The holes in his hands, the cracks in his skull, the skeleton species with a wide, analyzing smile that could set anyone to stone. W.D Gaster. The Evil King. 

“You’re the -” Mettaton immediately grabbed the sword he always carried with him, or at least tried to grab for it, but also found it to be absent.

“The Evil King? Yes, I am. But I’m not here for any evil deeds, not this time.” His face softened, looking at Mettaton. A sinking feeling shot throughout Mettaton’s chest. No, it was okay. The guy was behind the mirror glass, not in the actual room. “I’m here to help you.”

“Help… me?” Mettaton narrowed his gaze in suspicion, “I’m your enemy.”

“No, you aren’t. Your Father is my enemy. You’re supposed to be Sans’ enemy… that is, you were supposed to. Before he changed things.”

Mettaton’s face fell at the mention of Sans. He was still mad, and the emotions from before started to bubble up within him again. Seeing Sans bring new friends from Wonderland, seeming to talk to the next Ruler of Hearts with such ease p*ssed him off. Sans wasn’t supposed to have friends, yet he kept claiming more and more without any effort!

“I could help, you know,” Gaster said slowly, “And I want to, too. We both want the same thing, don’t we? We want to steer Sans onto his pathway, get you the happily ever after you want, for both you and your brother. But…” He tapped the glass. “I can’t do it from inside the mirror.”

“You… can’t… you’d help me? For real?” Mettaton asked. After a moment, he scoffed at the idea, shaking his head. He’s the next Prince Charming, he wouldn’t stoop so low as to work with someone like this man!

What was he even doing in their basement, anyway? And why was he behind a mirror?

Gaster didn’t give hm a chance to think. “Of course. My destiny has been finished. I want Sans to become the next Evil King, so how are our wants any different?” His fingers trailed, longingly against the glass, as if he wanted so badly to be where Mettaton was. “This benefits both of us, so you don’t have to be suspicious of me. But don’t you want that? Don’t you want Sans to be evil? To provide your brother support others won’t give just because he has no destiny?”

Mettaton tore his gaze away, shaking his head. “I do, I… I should go get - I need Dad, to get my Dad. You’re in my basement for a reason, I think this is where you’ve been kept. As a prisoner. Dad’ll kill me if I do anything.”

“I’m sure he’d be more disappointed that you wouldn’t take help to get your destiny. Remember, Prince Charming and I went to school together. He and I worked together sometimes to keep people with their destinies.” Gaster took a step back from the glass, a hand on his face, as if he pitied Mettaton. “That’s sad, I can’t believe you hate your brother that much that you wouldn’t do anything to save his future?”

“I don’t hate him! I hate Sans!” Mettaton gripped the apple, nails digging in through the edge of the crisp red skin as he turned his back to the mirror. “Shut up, shut up!”

“I thought you were more like your Father. When his time came, he embraced his fairytale destiny.” Gaster took another step back. “He did whatever it took.”

That snapped Mettaton’s patience, already worn thin through a pretty crummy day. His heels turned, and his chest boiled with anger. “I am like my Dad! I will do whatever it takes!” Mettaton raise his arm. “And my destiny-” The apple flew from his hands. “Is MINE!”

Crash.

The first shard fell. Then the second. 

Mettaton watched as the cracks exploded across the grinning image of the Evil King before the mirror utterly shattered, no mercy given to the surface as it crumbled to the floor below. Instead of seeing the wooden back of the mirror, as anyone normal would expect, he saw a misty black darkness of a void. The mirror realm. 

A foot stepped out.

The Evil King emerged, hands gently gripping the edges of his prison as he stepped out. Then he straightened, practically towering above the already tall teenager with a smirk so pressed firm that Mettaton, if he could, would have p*ssed himself. He walked across the shards easily, purple cloak fluttering in his movement as he bent down.

“Trapped within a mirror without any reflective surface to gaze at myself?” Gaster hummed lowly, admiring his face within the clean edge of the fresh apple. “Now that’s torture.” 

“You’re uh… you…” Mettaton scratched the back of his neck, taking a few nervous steps back. “You’re good right? Bad? Good - I can’t do this.”

“I don’t think you have a choice.” Gaster’s voice made Mettaton stop his poorly made escape attempt, the boy freezing in place. Gaster turned from the apple, watching the robot stare at the floor with regret burning in his chest. “You released me from my prison. Imagine what you’re Father would say. What society would say. How people would judge you, or your precious little brother.”

Mettaton looked to the side. “I released you, aren’t you going to help me with my destiny?”

“Of course. I did make a deal, after all, and who would I be if I went back on that. But that does require your participation.”

“What do you want, then? I can’t just lead you to school and have you meet Sans, people will find out I let you out! And HeadMaster Grimm might -”

“Good point.”

Firmly, Gaster took a piece of glass that was impaled within the apple out, letting it fall and shatter further on the floor. The pieces were so small it could be compared to practically disintegrating. 

“I think I have a plan,” Gaster said. 

He titled the apple back, and it was consumed by a flash of purple magic. Mettaton watched, wide eyed, as the apples aging process was suddenly sped up, and within seconds was turned into a whithered version of itself. 

“Let’s do some magic.” Gaster gave an insane looking grin to Mettaton, and the robot swallowed, nervous.

“A journey back. Take this life force, old to young. Turn the clock.” Raising his hand that was consumed by the purple magic, he let the purple mist consume his old body. “To fit in would be prudent. Ignore what times cruel hands have done and make a high school student!”

A sudden burst of magic almost threw Mettaton off of his feet, causing him to stumble back against the door and thud against it. 

Then the mist cleared. And Metatton’s jaw _dropped_.

He could almost hear beautifying age reversal ads humming in his mind as he stared at the man - no, teenage boy, before him. No longer a skeleton, Gaster stood, now only slightly taller than Mettaton, but… not a skeleton. A human. A human teenager. About his age, with thick white hair and shining, intense purple eyes. He folded his arms, and grinned, pale lips pulling back into his usual smirk. 

“You’re a teenager?” Mettaton exclaimed with disbelief, throat dry from surprise. 

“That’s right, my new best friend.” Before Mettaton could struggle, Gaster had thrown a pale, fleshy arm over his shoulder. “And we’re going to go to school tomorrow. Time to go back to high school!”


	30. Chapter 30

Sans giggled at the mirror screen, watching a shaking emoji wiggle about on the screen. Ever since they left Wonderland, things had been perfect. Him and Chara picked up with one another easily, and would text each other over their mirrors whenever they could. Toriel even let Chara come to Sans' school once in awhile, so Chara would join their group and eat lunch. It was fun.

One of the more permanent changes were the new students. Frisk, child of Alice Wonderland, and Asriel, Chara's little brother, both joined Monster Kid's grade and now attended Ever After High. They kept the little guy distracted from following Undyne, so it worked out pleasantly. They even made a little friend group, it was adorable. Like a smaller, younger version of Alphys' friend group.

Things were good. Except for a few people, specifically those who had benefited greatly from Sans becoming evil. Mettaton was one of them. Sans knew Mettaton had snapped at Papyrus during one point, but thankfully Papyrus knew the real reason and hadn't taken it too personally.

"IT'S OKAY, I KNOW HE'S STRUGGLING!" Papyrus had said as a response, "I GUESS I SHOULD GIVE HIM SOME SPACE."

Bless Papyrus. Sans was pretty sure evil would have ruled the world if it wasn't for Papyrus' pureness that spread across all land that he touched. If someone found out that Papyrus' birth had inadvertently lead to Sans' goodness, Sans wouldn't be that surprised. Papyrus just existing created a sense of hope with how kind he was.

Things were nice now. Sans hung out with his friends. Sometimes he played video games with Chara. Alphys managed to transfer one of her classes to a science one. Grillby was inheriting his parents business and was studying cooking more closely.

Everyone was happy. It was nice.

"Mettaton said he wanted us to meet up before school," Alphys had explained, watching Sans set his mirror back into his bookbag. "His friend is attending our school and he's in all of your classes, so he wants you to show him around."

Admittedly, not the best way to spend his day, but Sans was fine with it. Maybe he could add a new friend to his ever growing friend group? It was a possibility.

Mettaton soon arrived, stepping out of his own limo with an undeterminable expression upon his face. After a moment, another person followed, and Sans' jaw dropped.

Holy crap, that guy was _hot_.

Thick white hair was brushed to the side, with firm purple eyes, almost magical, glancing down at Sans. He was tall, a fully defined ab line perminating through his shirt. Welp, there went Sans, being extremely gay, as per usual. Mettaton himself was enough, but his friend as well? Where did Mettaton find all of these hot guys? And could Sans go there?

"This is my good friend, uh... Meer Shards. Yes. Meer Shards."

"It's nice to meet you." His voice was like honey, silky and calm, almost lulling in a sense. Sans perked up at being noticed, his hot guy alarms ringing loudly throughout his skull.

"Oh, uh... hey! I'm Sans, Sans Cheshire." Sans tried to keep his bones from clattering excitedly. Mettaton was one thing, but this guy just stepped off the playing field. No way those biceps were real. No freaking way.

"You're Sans, son of the Evil King? The most powerful man in all of fairytale history? You're like a celebrity!" Meer said, grin wide. "That's so cool!"

"Really? Nah, it ain't," Sans said, waving off the subject. "My Dad freaking sucks. And I'm not even following my destiny, so it doesn't matter."

Sans didn't notice how the boys expression seemed to deflate slightly. Only Mettaton did, who glanced to the side with surprise.

"So, anyway, you're in all of my classes! Could you show me the ropes?" Meer asked, folding his arms behind his back with his own smile.

Sans offered a short smile. "Sure thing."

Meer was giving a fake smile. Alphys could tell.

Seeing Sans agree to show the new kid around, she turned towards Mettaton. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine." Mettaton shook away her worry.

She sighed gently, watching him push her away. This was what she was afraid of, letting people down by not following her destiny. Her and Mettaton were practically raised together, so...

Wait, no. Shaking away those thoughts, she let Mettaton dwell on his new, uncertain future. She made her choice. Mettaton would just have to deal with it. Maybe Meer was just a little iffy of Sans because of Mettaton. None of her business. Snow White would try to fix these issues, she didn't have to anymore.

"Oh wow, we have all of the same classes." Sans' tail wagged back and forth behind him. "Guess you will be sticking with me today."

Meer smiled gently, purple eyes raking over Sans. "I guess so. Do you have any favorite class on your schedule? Mine is Wonderland class, I bet that'll be fun."

Hearing that, Sans perked up. "No way! That's my favorite class as well! Wonderland class is so much fun, you're going to love it. My sister goes with me usually, but she's sick today, so we can..."

Mettaton watched as Sans went off on a tangent, eyeing Gaster gently. The disguised man worked around social situations well.

So this was it, right? His plan? He'd just work to befriend Sans, then he'd convince him to become evil. Simply enough. Alphys would become poisoned, and everyone would go back to the good old days. The Headmaster also didn't like the change of events, so... Mettaton should have support. He was just changing things to the way they had been.

It'd be fine. Mettaton breathed gently, pressing a hand against his chest. For Blooky.

~~~~~~

The first two periods went rather fun. Sans wasn't a fan of his Spells and Curses class, but Meer was a delightful addition to his day. The guy made jokes with Sans, laughed to the nekos puns, then they ended up talking about a book. Honestly, the guy was amazing. It was almost as if he knew what Sans thought about things, because their opinions practically were identical. Meer thought one book was overrated? Sans had been ranting about it since he was thirteen. Meer thought one book had a misunderstood villain? Sans did as well. In fact, he and Grillby had talked about it the other day inside of the boys bathroom while skipping class.

Hey, maybe it was just the conclusion of friendship him and Chara found again, but Sans was oddly optimistic about creating new bonds with people. And why wouldn't he be? Everything in his life was going great! Not only did he have a great parent back into his life, his Mom, he was best friends with a close group of people. Then, on top of it, his destiny was his own. He had a great Mom, a great sister, awesome friends, and a future for his own taking. Now he was developing a new friendship with an incredibly hot guy that got along great with Sans, not to mention had the same thoughts as Sans did!

Now that everything else in his life was good, Sans could consider dating. He never did think of it as a possibility before, but... Sans didn't have to hide who he was now.

"... And yeah, that's kinda the story I'm writing. It's not much, but I like writing romance and adventure." Sans smiled softly, ears tilting back at Meer at the end of their third period.

"That sounds awesome. You do have a good story, and I think your romance between them is pretty believable." Meer said. He ran a hand through his hair, and as if he was trying to appear even hotter, he leaned back, once again causing his ab outline to be seen through his shirt.

Sans chuckled lightly, smile still engraved on his face. "Thanks."

"You know Sans, you have such a pretty smile."

Hearing the compliment, Sans' ears and tail shot up, blush bright blue on his face. "O-Oh?"

Meer pushed his body forward in his desk, pale, almost white arms crossed on the wooden surface. "It is. You're fairly attractive."

"And uh... yer hot too, since we're exchanging compliments randomly." Sans rubbed the back of his neck, face now easily comparable to his hoodies bright blue. "Oh wow, would you look at that, I forgot to do question six!"

To avoid showing his blush, Sans forced his face down, trying out the question that eluded him. Evil classes weren't really his thing, but he had to wait until next year to change his schedule fully.

"It's B," Meer said after briefly scanning the question.

Sans blinked, looking down at the answers. Wow, he was smart, he got the question pretty easily. Maybe he took this class in his last school.

A brush of knees dragged Sans out of his thoughts, as he found Meer leaning even closer, gaze softly gathered onto the short skeleton as if Sans was his entire world.

"Would you like to come out with me to lunch?"

Lunch?

"My friends and I eat lunch outside, we have this little clearing," Sans said, pointing over his shoulder to the window. "If you want to join us you can -"

"No, I mean we go outside of this school. The lunch food here isn't that good, and I have money. I can take you into town and we could eat there."

"How do you know the lunch food here isn't good if it's your first day?"

Meer didn't even so much as blink. "All school food is terrible."

Okay, fair. Sans couldn't blame him there. The only time the food was good was when it was Alphys' birthday. Awkward for Alphys, yes, but the cake was freaking delicious.

Sans considered the offer, tapping absentmindedly against his mirror in his bag. He loved eating with his friends, it was the only time they all could meet up during school. They could meet up after school, though. And what about Grillby? He always made Sans lunch.

Sans always felt guilty when he cooked for him. Knowing that Grillby only did because Sans saved him. Grillby certainly had other things to do, he probably didn't even like cooking for Sans. It took time out of his day, and he only continued daily over a feeling of obligation.

"Come on, you meet with your friends everyday, and you're going to meet with them some other times, right?" Meer tilted his head, "And if you want, we can just go out and buy some food. I'd hate to have to go alone."

With the compromise, Sans found himself nodding. "Okay, sure."

~~~~~~

Alphys watched the next message pop up onto her mirror, shooing away a fluttering bird from her shoulder.

_Hot guy alert ;0 Like seriously, hot guy alert here. Freaking model at this point tbh - Sans_

_And he invited me out to lunch - Sans_

_Liek seriously, lunch, i'm flipping my buns over here how much Iim freaking out - Sans_

_And his name is Meer, how cool is that? If he plays guitar or can cook im pretty sure he is legally required to become my husband, seriously Alp I think he's just making me gayer f*ck man - Sans_

_Basically I'm going to go pick up food with him, we'll come back after we get it, tell Grillbs he doesn't have to make me lunch tomorrow, just put the stuff into the fridge from today - Sans_

Grillby, who had been looking over her shoulder before, had now wilted away into a saddened version of himself. Back hunched, head buried into his hands, he sat. Defeated.

"Hey, there's still a chance, right?" Alphys asked.

Everyone knew about Grillby's crush. It was obvious. Stupidly obvious. Undyne was the only one who didn't figure it out, but a quick explanation from Alphys had caught her up to speed sometime ago.

"Why don't you just confess to him? Before the other guy does?" Undyne held up a cooked animal leg, pointing it to Grillby.

"I tried that, twice!" Grillby admitted, hugging his arms to his chest. "The first time in the well, but Sans passed out. And the second time was at his house, but he didn't hear me because that bowl shattered in the kitchen. Those were the only two times I could even muster up enough courage to tell him."

Alphys couldn't really blame him. Grillby did try, not only through his failed confessions, but through hinting. And Sans, having lived most of his life believing no one would ever be attracted to him, was rather oblivious on normal social romantic hints. Grillby trying to scoot closer only made Sans think he wanted to pet Sans again, or just wanted some contact since he was made of fire. Trying to hint at them going on a date had Sans suggesting they all visit the movie, their entire group, as friends. Alphys almost threw the soda she had been drinking and yell at her best friend that it was a date.

Poor Grillby. He picked the most oblivious boy ever to fall in love with. Unless he directly said his intentions, and directed flirted, Sans wasn't going to get it.

"I don't understand why he doesn't think I enjoy cooking for him." Grillby pressed his hands across the tops of his flames, trying to calm them. "Cooking is my passion, and I like cooking for other people. Especially Sans, since he loves to eat. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't like it." Seeing no further use in talking with any hope, he withered down again into his previous position. "It doesn't matter anyway. I guess this is just a high school crush."

"Hey, you can't give up now!" Undyne said, "Where's your fighting spirit? Prove to Sans that you're better for him!"

"Am I?" Grillby asked, "I mean, I saw Meer in the hallway today. He is hot. Way more attractive than me. All I have is a bar for my future, and that's it. Sans doesn't deserve to be held back, and Meer clearly is more attractive and charming than me."

"DON'T PUT YOURSELF DOWN LIKE THAT!" Papyrus said, "YOU HAVE JUST AS MUCH AS A CHANCE AS MEER DOES!"

Grillby looked over at him. "Would you go out with someone like me?"

"PERSONAL PREFERENCE DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING!" Papyrus said.

"Yes it does, that's the problem! Sans doesn't want someone like me, or else he would have gotten a crush on me! He wants someone like Meer! And that's... _fine_. It's fine. I had my chance, and I lost it. If Meer makes him happy, then I'll be happy for him." Grillby pulled out his own lunch, avoiding looking at the one he brought for Sans. "I figured it was a longshot, anyways. Can we talk about something else, please?"

~~~~~~

Sans didn't notice how much time had passed. Meer was stupidly good at whisking Sans away, bringing him over to a table despite their previous agreement. By the time Sans realized they were supposed to be going back after they picked up food, Sans was halfway through his meal and lunchtime was already well under way. Crap.

They talked about more things. Well, Sans did. Meer liked to listen more, leaning against his hand and watching Sans eat with an analyzing gaze. Every chance he got, he offered a slick compliment, making Sans turn more blue each passing minute.

"We should probably head back now, I wanna make sure I get back before lunch is over," Sans said.

"Oh, do you mean before lunch ends?" Meer asked, purple eyes glancing over at the clock on the wall. "Because... that ended a few minutes ago."

" _What_?"

"But before we go..." Out of nowhere, a cold, almost freezing hand cupped Sans', causing Sans to look up. "I have something to ask you."

~~~~~~

Okay, pretty embarrassing to come to class fifteen minutes late with another guy. Very embarrassing.

"Again, sorry I missed lunch, Meer and I just got caught up I guess," Sans admitted, hugging the bag of weapons close to his chest as he watched two people duel in the center of the field.

"Did you at least have fun?" Grillby asked.

"Oh yeah, it was pretty fun! We both ordered some good and then ate while talking about stories. Did you know Meer actually used to live in Wonderland? It's wondrous, ey?"

Grillby offered a soft smile. "Glad to see that you're happy."

Before Sans could reply, Meer suddenly grabbed Sans' attention, directing him towards the battle and saying a few things to him. Papyrus watched silently, looking between the fire elemental with a strained smile and the other human. Meer leaned Sans against him, as if they were dating, and even pressed a quick kiss against his forehead. Sans looked surprised, but smiled softly at the human, appreciative and warming up to the touch.

Oh no, did Meer ask him out?

"Are you okay?" Papyrus asked Grillby quietly, almost so quietly that he might have went unheard.

"I'm just... going to go use the bathroom," Grillby whispered, standing up, "I'm fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, here's another chapter because people asked me for it. Since I have provided two uploads in one week, I expect your souls as payment. And maybe some starbucks as well. 
> 
> Jk, enjoy the second upload this week!
> 
> And yes, the warnings are coming into play now. Sans has no idea that's his Dad and Gaster fully intends to do *things* to him on their date. Uh oh. Hopefully someone will stop it?


End file.
